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Section 17. Public address systems and amplified music
It is unlawful to operate or use any radio, television, stereo, musical instrument, electric generating plant, power saws, chain saws, power tools of any kind or public address system whether fixed, portable, or vehicular-mounted, in or on any area except by special-use permit.
–Adopted from Iowa Code 350.10.

That’s funny, because I swear I could hear Staind coming from one direction and Kenny Chesney coming from the other, not to mention the little kids running around, cars driving up and down the camp roads, and some guy screaming, “Fuck you! I’m only here because I don’t have a fucking ride! I fucking wish you weren’t my brother!” Did I mention there were kids around? Then some car alarms went off, and a lady at the campsite next to mine spent an hour on the phone complaining about her spoiled brat daughter who was going to some show at the House of Bricks and hadn’t called, yet. This particular conversation was a gem because the woman, who definitely slurred most of her words, also let the conversation unfold by repeating simple phrases like, “I swear, she never used words longer than three letters. I mean, can’t she talk to me? None of her words were longer than three letters.” She also complained that this girl was telling her friends her parents were drunks. The next morning, I was scavenging some wood from their campsite and found a half dozen Natty Ice cans burned in the fire ring. If the shoe fits, lady, get some help from Social Services.

My night of quiet solace in nature was more like a vacation in tenement housing. I probably should have just asked Derek if I could borrow his backyard. The morning was better, though. Most of the noisest people broke camp early and took off, so I stayed at the park until almost one in the afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet. Patience pays off.

I thought I should start scanning in some photos since I have a few rolls before I can even get to my vacation pictures. All of the new ones up as of this blog post came from the very first roll I shot on my Olympus XA . Most of the roll was blank. I didn’t understand the aperture control and set it to allow the flash to control aperture. Obviously no flash was hooked up, so I’m actually surprised this many pictures turned out at all.

Yeah, I let my domain expire while I was on vacation. What a pain in the ass. It’s back. That is all.

So California was pretty sweet. I’ll have to write some individual stories about it over the next few days. Short ones, with bursts of action to keep your attention.

I tried to blog last night and my stupid website was down. Ready to transfer to Mediatemple in 3… 2… 1…

Anyway, I’m here. It’s cool. There are lots of hills. And a bay. But you already knew that.

UPDATE:

I just ate sushi at 12:30 in the morning. It was delicious. Now I really love this city.

I’ve been mulling over the sidebar to this Sunday Register article for the last few days, especially this part:

Warning signs your child is using marijuana

• A change in the group of friends a child hangs out with.
• The child becomes more secretive or isolated.
• Mood changes, such as irritability, “laziness” or being unmotivated to participate in favorite activities.
• An increase in patterns of staying out late or sleeping at odd hours or for long durations of time.
• Displays symptoms of depression or hostility.
• Begins to show a carelessness in grooming.
• A change in academic performance.

To summarize, if your teenager is irritable, dresses funny, and sleeps a lot, then you should be looking for joints in the laundry. Obviously, teenage drug use is a bigger problem than any of us realized. I didn’t even know how to approach such an obviously generalized list until I saw this:

Thank you, Drew. Your insights, as always, are appreciated. And funny.