My Boy and I

Red

The wife was out on a conference, and James and I were alone for the next few days. Being a lazy Sunday, we didn't have anything much planned. After mass, we grabbed something to eat, then did the groceries. Normally, on weekends, I would go to the Filipino grocery store, Island Pacific, in Union City, to shop for the ingredients I would need to prepare the week's meals. Since it was only the 2 of us, I didn't feel like cooking. It was more practical to either eat out or order food to-go.

Since James was practically at home most days, I also had to think about his lunch. Somehow, this week, he had a craving for pastrami sandwich. And he didn't mind having it everyday -- even twice a day. So number one on our grocery list were 2 pounds of pastrami. He chose his bread and picked his choice of mustard. With a few more essentials in the cart, off we went.

Red 2

Weather was hot, and the temperature inside the house was just a tad cooler. But still hot. Since we had no airconditioning, we had to make do with the ceiling fan in the dining room. We opened the door leading to the backyard so the air could circulate. It helped, but it was still a bit warm.

The night before, I received a message from a friend of mine from back home, whose husband recently had surgery. The husband was a drinking buddy of mine, and both of them were my co-workers some 20-plus years ago. The husband had complications due to diabetes and had to have surgery on his right leg. As much as she didn't want to, the wife sought some financial help because they'd maxed out on their health card coverage. So when we go back from the grocery store, I went online and had money sent to her.

The Social Network

Before dinner, James and I were debating whether or not we should watch a movie. There weren't too many good movies to choose from. Our only choice was Red 2. I suggested that we probably should watch Red (the first one) first so we knew who the characters were and understood the circumstances leading up to Red 2. The first movie wasn't available On Demand (with AT&T u-verse). We tried Red Box, and it wasn't available anywhere either. I guess everyone had the same idea and opted to watch the first movie before screening the second. Without Red, we opted for The Social Network -- the story behind Facebook. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't Oscar material. It was a sleeper, if you'd ask me.

By the time we were done, it was past our bedtime. Off to bed, as Monday was almost upon us.

Carbon Monoxide Detector Goes Off

Last week, I finally had my HF vertical antenna up and was able to lay 16 ground radials, as best as I could. So far, everything seems to be OK. I have been hearing stations quite well, particularly on 40m (7 MHz) in the evenings. Overall, propagation had been bad from this side of the world, at least, so I'm not as concerned. For the past few days, I've just been scanning the bands and had been listening, but have not made an effort to contact anyone. Hearing stations was one thing. Being heard was another. That would be the ultimate test of my station.

I don't want to bore you with a lot of ham radio terminologies and gobbledegook, so I'll try to keep it at a minimum. And I'll try to make it as simple and as easy to understand as possible.

If you are not familiar, HF (high frequency, typically, below 30.0 MHz) communication uses the atmosphere to "bounce" off signals from one station to the other. The distance between the 2 stations can be in thousands of miles. On a good day, it can be anywhere in the world. For shorter distances, there is what is called a line-of-sight communication for VHF (very high frequency, 30 to 300 MHz) and UHF (ultra high frequency, above 300 MHz). Both VHF & UHF require the 2 contacting stations to "see" each other to establish communication. As a general rule, the lower the frequency, the farther the signal goes.

To help you understand these concepts, just imagine your typical FM and AM radio stations. If you like "old school" music, particularly the 1980s, you'd probably be listening to 98.1 KISS FM. This is an FM station in the SF Bay Area that transmits its signal on 98.1 MHz. If you drive further out of the Bay Area, say head towards Monterey or Carmel, the signal will no longer be as strong. As you drive further out, you may not hear it anymore. And this distance, point to point (not driving distance) is much less than 100 miles. On the other hand, if you listen to KGO 810 on AM, they transmit on 810 KHz (or 0.810 MHz). At the same distance or even further, you can still hear KGO loud and clear. As our general rule goes, the lower the frequency, the farther the signal goes. And goes for 2-way radio communication.

So, why did my carbon monoxide alarm go off? Let me explain....

After dinner last night, I turned my radio on and heard a group of Filipino hams in Washington state and California having a nice roundtable conversation on 40m (7 Mhz). Propagation was pretty good and most of their signals were pretty strong (in other words, LOUD). I decided to join in. I made the necessary adjustments to my equipment, and off I went. I stepped on my foot switch (which triggered my microphone) and blurted out my callsign, "NW6J".

Carbon Monoxide Alarm

I was heard on my first call. Barely into my response back, I heard a high-pitched beeping sound. Crap !!! By keying my microphone (and radio) and with 100 watts of power, I triggered something else in the house. It was an alarm. Probably the smoke alarm. It seemed like the station who acknowledge my call was having some difficulty understanding me. Between him and the beeping sound, I had to cut my conversation abruptly so I can check what was going off.

When I stepped out of the (radio) room (or ham shack, as we would like to call it), the beeping sound stopped. Whew!!! A sigh of relief. Even if the beeping stopped, I knew that it was only temporary, and that it would go off again once I transmitted. I reduced the power on the radio and went back on the air with 50 watts. As soon as I keyed the microphone, the alarm went off again. Holy crap !!! What's going on??? I ran out room, approached the smoke detectors and listened. It wasn't them. Wrong device. The beeping continued. I followed the direction of the beeps, which brought me to the carbon monoxide alarm that was plugged to the wall outlet in the dining room. Bingo!!! I unplugged the alarm and took out the battery. Then it stopped.

I called my son, James, and asked him to observe. I told him to go outside the house, stand by the driveway and see if anything unusual happened to any of our neighbors. I've heard of horror stories about RFI (radio frequency interference), like garage doors opening, lamps turning on/off, and water-sprinklers turning on, to name a few. I also asked James to check if our TV made any buzzing sound or the picture shook or if my voice was coming out of the TV, or if our lights flickered, every time I transmitted. Luckily, it didn't. And so far, nothing from the neighbors either -- at least, not last night.

With the alarm unplugged and the assurance that I have not (yet) cause any disruption to my neighbors and within my own house. I went back on the air and continued with the roundtable conversation. The other stations I was talking to was so kind enough to provide feedback on my audio (how I sounded from their end). After I few adjustment, everything sounded great.

Looking forward to spending more time on the air, and here's hoping that nothing else happens.........to anyone.

90 Minutes With SEIU-UHW

Another union meeting. Second for this month. And we're, once again, in sunny SCAL. I really hadn't planned on attending this meeting, but our partners on the other side of the negotiation table wanted to talk about wages. So, off I went.

I took the usual Southwest flight that left Oakland airport at 7:10am. This meant I had to be up by 4am, and on BART by 5. I got to the Coliseum station just past 5:30, and after a few minutes, I was on the AirBART shuttle to the airport. Before 6, I was entering Terminal 1, then proceeded to a kiosk to print my boarding pass. Twenty-four hours earlier, I had confirmed my flight via my mobile application, and secured my boarding position.

For an ungodly hour, there was a fairly long line at security screening. But it moved pretty fast so it wasn't an issue. Lots of time to spare. Once cleared, I got coffee and a pastry at a Starbuck's next to my departure gate. It wasn't crowded. I was relaxed. On the same flight with me was our Labor Relations lawyer, Walter, who was a member of our negotiation team.

Walter and I shared a cab to our meeting. On the way, we chatted and shared some experiences about work and our current negotiations. Call time was 9am, but by the time everyone got settled, it was past 10am. Our lead negotiator even arrived late, considering that her office was just a few floors above.

The lead negotiator for the union was a lady named, Veronica. The prior lead wasn't available, so she took over. When the meeting started, it seemed like nobody knew what we were suppose to do or talk about. We went back to the job description and tried to recall what the last discussions were. It revived the whole concern about the driver's license requirement, only to find out that management has struck it out of the final revision of the job description. Aha, we forgot about that. Next?

The other issue centered (again) on the Compliance verbiage. At the last meeting, the union was informed that it was standard language that could not be revised or edited. We gave them a sample, and they were suppose to do their own due diligence. I guess someone forgot to do it, so everyone was scratching their head and looking lost. They then asked for an actual copy of an NCAL union job description so they can confirm. I got a copy sent to me, and it was sent to them.  But, like always, this whole issue was set aside for further discussion and confirmation for the next meeting.

The next topic was about the contractors. Again, both leads looked at each other, as if surprised, and waited for what needed to be discussed. Our lead reminded them that management had already provided a counter-proposal to their proposal, and that the ball was now on their court to respond. Somehow they managed to get away from their predicament by saying that we owed them some information (they earlier requested), and that they could not respond to the counter-proposal without that information. Ergo, another stall, to be discussed in the next meeting, provided we send them the information they asked for.

Another impasse.

Our lead reminded them again that they (the union) specifically requested certain topics to be discussed at the meeting, but it seemed like no one knew or remembered. Even the substitute lead negotiator was not informed nor briefed. Personally, I think that was just plain rude -- to come to a negotiating meeting, with topics you specifically wanted discussed, and not be prepared. So what's new? When we told them that the wages discussion was their idea, they looked stunned and confused. We were expecting them to provide us with a proposal, as a normal process, since they raised it. Immediately, they called for a caucus. It was almost 11am.

They returned from their caucus just past 11:30. In an unusual manner, one of the reps said that they agreed with an earlier pay rate scale I proposed. Management was a little bit surprised and confused because, to our recollection, there wasn't any new or recent proposal from our end, so we didn't really know what they were referencing as "our proposal". We found out that this proposal was made back in February 2012. Holy Toledo !!! The lady lead began rattling off conditions and terms of their proposal as she recalled it from memory. She was interrupted by our lead, and was requested to have their proposal in writing. Another caucus. Since it was close to noon, we all agreed to take a lunch break and resume at 1pm.

The union team departed, while our team remained in the conference room and chatted about this so-called "proposal". Then, we all left and got lunch.

By the time we resumed it was almost 2pm. The union walked us through their proposal, as we tried to visualize them. We said that we will look into this, and that both parties will cost out said proposal for our next round of discussions. We calendared our next meetings for August, again in SCAL. Two back-to-back days were set aside to, hopefully, get resolution and agreement on all pending items. One union rep suggested if management's counter-proposal could just be emailed, instead of meeting in person, but it fell on deaf ears. We adjourned at 2:30pm.

Walter and I took a cab back to the airport. I had called for taxi service during lunch because I had to leave the meeting at 2:45pm to get back to the airport for a 4:30pm flight back to Oakland. Walter had a later flight, but decided to just wait at the airport. He said he would try to get on an earlier flight if he could, which he did. Meanwhile, I sat comfortably at my gate, but was informed that my flight would be delayed by 15 minutes. An earlier flight was leaving at 3:55pm and had room. So I took my chances, and was able to get on the earlier flight -- the same one Walter was on. I was home sooner than expected, which was all good.

Can you imagine? Flying all the way to Pasadena for a 90 minute meeting? How productive and efficient can we be.....???

Pack 'Em and Stack 'Em

Our office building management was having work done on all offices. This included repainting of the walls and changing of the carpets. This was an enormous project and schedules were sent out to the tenants at least a month in advance. They briefly described the work that would be done, but didn't provide a whole lot of details. It really didn't matter to us how they'd do it. But what was important was what we needed to do.

Well, we needed to pack our stuff in moving boxes and get out of their way. That was basically it.

This whole packing activity was actually good for me because it allowed me to clean my cube and get rid of all the unnecessary paper and documents that I have accumulated during the past year (yes, maybe more). Anything old or obsolete went straight to the shredding bin. I had a total of 6 boxes, which included one for spare binders and another for old laptop accessories, such as keyboards, batteries, and cords.

There were two activities that needed to be done -- wall painting and carpet changing, spread over two days. On our side of the floor, I believe they've divided the work into 4 sections. For our team, we were divided into 3, just because of how we're physically laid out. My side of the break was for a Tuesday paint and a Wednesday carpet. This meant that I needed to pack all my stuff and be ready by Tuesday, 3:30pm. The rest of our team were divided up into Wednesday-Thursday, and Thursday-Friday.

Frankly, we didn't know how anyone could work on the second day of each schedule if all your stuff were in boxes. For our team, we were instructed to vacate our desks by 3:30pm on the first day, and go home. We would then work from home on the second day, and would return to work the day after. By then, our offices would be ready, and all we needed was to unpack.

I will be in Southern California on Thursday for union negotiations, so I won't be back in the office till Friday. I've heard different comments about the new paint job and carpet, from the other side of the building. I will reserve my comments when I get back.

It's Finally Up !!!

Being a Saturday, I slept in a little bit. As much as I wanted to lay in bed a little longer, there was work to be done that needed to be completed today. Not tomorrow. Today!!!

S9v31 antenna

I needed an assistant to get the task done, so I woke up James earlier than he wanted to. After a quick bite, we were both ready. We first worked on the vertical antenna. Being telescopic, I extended it to its full length of 31 feet. At each section, I had to manually squeeze each clamp to prevent each section from collapsing down (by gravity). Once fully extended, I carefully placed it over the pipe I buried the day before. The ground had hardened and the pipe was as sturdy as it can be. James was my pair of eyes as I hoisted the antenna, making sure it didn't come in contact with any power line.

As expected, the slight tilt of the pipe was visible as the antenna stood slightly off vertical. I had a remedy for it, but would do it later once the ground radials have been laid out.

The next task was laying out all 16 ground radials. This was quite tedious because I had to layout the radials all over the ground (backyard), as equally as possible. Since the antenna was located close to the back of the house, there was very little space for the 26-plus-foot radials. I purposely left this part of the gorund "empty" and concentrated the radials across the larger portion of the backyard. I could add shorter radials later, and still work well (that what the books say). I didn't have any grass and the  yard was just plain hard dirt. To keep the radials in place, I had to drive lawn staples over each radial. With a hard ground, it was not as easy as I hoped. I didn't have enough staples, too, so I had to get more to finish the job. But that's for tomorrow.

VHF/UHF J-Pole Antenna

After laying out the radials, I connected the ground plate to the antenna with the 12-inch copper wire I prepared yesterday. I hooked up the coaxial cable and ran it to the computer/radio room, which I call the "shack". I didn't want to drill any holes on the side of the house to bring the cable in so I fabricated a cable pass-through made of wood, which was mounted against the sliding window. For security, I used a 2x1 inch wood to jam the sliding window (with the pass-through on one end) on its frame so it could not be opened from outside the house.

Then I hit a little snag. The 50-foot coaxial cable I used wasn't long enough to reach the antenna tuner at the "operating position". Fortunately, I had a spare 6-foot coaxial jumper and a barrel connector, which I used to extend the cable reach. Not the ideal set up, but it will have to do for now. I will have to replace the cable anyway with something longer and one that had a high power rating, as I planned on using a linear amplifier. After the cable was connected, I fired up the radio and the first QSO (a conversation or contact between 2 stations) was heard. We're now in business !!!

S9v31 & J-Pole

There was one more antenna that needed to be put up. This was my VHF/UHF dual-band j-pole antenna. This was a reliable, low profile antenna, which I won at a raffle during one of SBARA's monthly meetings. This antenna install was a temporary one, and all I needed was to have the j-pole clear the roof. I used a few PVC pipes connected end-to-end, and mounted on an outdoor umbrella stand, high enough to clear the roof. Since communication on VHF & UHF were via repeaters, I was quite happy with the height of the antenna. I just made sure that it was secured and wouldn't sway with the wind. After running its coaxial cable through the window pass-through and connecting it, I turned on the radio and test triggered a couple of repeaters. It worked !!!

The bulk of the work was done. There were minor things I still needed to do, which could be done the next day. I planned on attaching an all-weather nylon rope to the vertical antenna, a third of the way up, and pulling it slightly to keep the antenna vertically straight as possible. I would also purchase additional lawn staples to make the ground radials more secure to the ground. The rest of the afternoon was spent rearranging equipment and fixing up the shack.

I Needed A Break

I needed a break from the craziness at work, including the last negotiation meeting. So I took off today from work. I wanted to get some personal stuff done, which I have not had a chance to do for the longest time. My goal was to put up my HF vertical antenna and get back on the air.

One of the pluses of taking off was the ability to sleep in, which I did. After going to my (late) morning ritual of a bowl of cereal and checking my email, I was ready to do what I had set out to do.

AWG 14 Stranded Insulated
Copper Wire

The first task was to drive a 3/4-inch diameter, 3-foot galvanized pipe to the ground, while leaving about 15 inches exposed. This was where the vertical antenna would be mounted, by inserting it over the exposed pipe. The required diameter for the pipe was actually 1.25 inches, but I couldn't find one that was no more than 40 inches. Home Depot and Lowes would cut the length I needed, but I had to buy the entire pre-cut piece, which was 10 feet long. Instead, I used a couple of 8-inch galvanized nipples, with 1.25-inch diameters. Both slid easily over the buried pipe, and the antenna base fit snugly over it, as required.

Burying 20 inches or so of that pipe wasn't easy. The ground at my backyard was dry and firmer than you can imagine. I had to soften the ground with water, as I pounded the pipe in place with a small sledge hammer. The first time it was driven, the pipe wasn't straight as it veered slightly diagonally. That wouldn't work. It had to be straight up, 90 degrees from the horizontal plane. The second try was better, but still a couple of degrees off. I decided not to reposition the pipe for the third time, and made do with its current position. I would take care of the installation later.

Ground radial plate with
ground radials

The next task was to prepare 16 (yes, you read it right!!!) ground radials. These radials were 26 feet 9 inches long, gauge #14 stranded insulated copper wire, with a ring terminal attached to one end. The ring terminals would be screwed onto a stainless steel ground radial plate, which will be situated at the base of the vertical antenna.

Whenever I do something repetitive, I try to come up with some kind of a "standard" process, as well as a jig or template of some sort. In this case, I marked the dining table I was working on with blue painter's tape, with fixed lengths of 9 inches, 2 feet, and 3 feet. So to make one radial, I would measure my copper wire 8 times on the 3-foot line, and once on both the 9-inch and 2-foot lines. Once the wire was cut, I spliced about 0.25 inch at one end, and crimped a ring terminal to it. I repeated this process 15 more times.

After all 16 radials had been completely assembled, each one was securely screwed on to the radial plate. I cut a smaller 12-inch wire, and fastened ring terminals on both ends. This would be used to connect the ground radials to the negative terminal of the 4:1 UNUN, which was electrically connected to the braided portion of the coaxial cable. The wire of the vertical antenna would be connected to the positive terminal of the 4:1 UNUN, which was electrically connected to the center lead of the coaxial cable.

Sounds complicated? Well, just pretend you understood it.

4:1 UNUN

With lunch interfering in between the prep work, plus the fact that I had to pick up my medication at Kaiser Fremont, I figured that I might run out of daylight and not be able to put up the antenna. I didn't want to rush the work just to get it done and be on the air, so I didn't make any attempt to do anything further. I had planned on finishing the installation tomorrow by starting out earlier than I did today.

I tidied up the dining table, and put away all the tools, wires, ring terminals, and all the other stuff I used. Soon after, James and I had dinner, then watched Growing Up 2. Tomorrow is another day.

What's The Driver's License For?

Call time was 9am, but we eventually got settled close to 10am, if not later. All the changes were made in the job description from the prior meeting, and both sides were hopeful that an agreement would be reached at this meeting. But again, that was just asking too much. There was always something that needed to be contested and disagreed upon. For this go-around, it was the inclusion of the driver's license requirement.

The union argued that the requirement of a driver's license was not inherent in the performance of the job, and, therefore, not necessary. On the other hand, management believed that it should be included because Desktop Support staff may be (and have been) required to transport equipment from one location to another, using either their personal vehicle or the company's. Thus, the need to have a driver's license.

During our caucus, I asked the managers from our team if it mattered to them how the equipment was brought from location to location. Some said it didn't matter to them, while the others said they wanted it transported by vehicle. As a consultant, I said that this requirement was not necessary in the fulfillment of their primary task of being a Desktop Support staff, and should not be included. However, the Labor Relations lawyer in the team thought otherwise. One argument that management had made was that they wanted to make sure that this "practice" (of driving) was continued (and grandfathered) and somehow captured in the job description.

I thought the more important word that was missing in the job description that needed to be clearly spelled out was "transporting" (of equipment) versus merely "moving", as currently written. "Transporting" meant "moving" from one facility to another, versus "moving" from one location (manager's office) to another (conference room). One may argue that it was all semantics, but one was more descriptive than the other. And in union job descriptions, you have to be more specific than vague.

Another issue on the job description the union has raised was the verbiage around Compliance. They were informed during the last meeting that changes could not be made because this was standard language that came from National Compliance, and was present in all KP job description, both union and non-union. The union rep didn't readily agree that this was present in union jobs, so he wanted to get a copy of an existing job description from us, while he checked his own resources.

Since the Compliance language contained reference to the use of "appropriate" federal and state licenses in the performance of the job, as necessary, management was willing to remove the driver's license requirement. However, no agreement was reached on the job description in its entirety, not until the union has verified the existence of the Compliance language in other union job descriptions.

Next on the agenda was the discussion about the contractors. Management provided the union with its counter-proposal. Management reiterated its desire to continue the current practice of using contractors for core projects, on a temporary basis, while other non-core projects were being created/assigned. It didn't seem like the union had any major heartburn about the counter-proposal except for the use of on-call staff. The union proposed it, but management didn't want it. But the ensuing discussions didn't result in anything final, as I recall it. I guess it's the union's move?

Another meeting is scheduled for next week, this time in sunny SCAL. The union rep requested that we continue discussing (and finalizing) the job description and the contractors. In addition, he wanted to talk about wages. This was where I come in.

It had been quite a productive meeting, but, as in the past, no agreement was made. We'll just have to move on and hope for it in the next one. As for the wages, since they brought it up, we'll have to see what they propose. Their ball.

Note: Author would like to acknowledge The Huffington Post (Katla McGlynn) for the illustration used on this post.

Classic Comfort Food: Nilagang Baka

If your household does not have Filipino food on a daily basis, whether for lunch or supper, there is always this craving for a hot pot of traditional Pinoy comfort food. One of them is Nilagang Baka. It is another form of beef stew, but this time, it has a clear broth. And like most stews, just throw everything in a pot and let it simmer till tender, then you're good to go.

This dish is very simple to prepare. There may be some regional variations in how it's made, but the basics are the same -- beef and vegetables in a clear broth. I only know one version of this dish, and I have cooked it that way for as long as I can remember. And I like it just the way it is.

My preferred cut of beef is the shank (with the bone) because of the natural beef flavor I get out of it. I think there is just the right amount of fat in it. Any excess fat, I can easily trim off, unlike the short ribs, which also gives tons of flavor but has lots of fat. For added flavor, I add beef neck bones (if you can find them). They do have meat in them, too, and provide more flavor. If you have lots of these beef bones, I suggest using a larger pot so you have enough room for your veggies as well.

After trimming the excess fat and cutting them into cubes (your choice of size), place the meat in a large pot. Add salt and ground black pepper, then pour water, just enough to cover the meat. Add a large onion (quartered) and some pepper corns. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer the meat till tender. Keep the lid on.

As you wait, prepare the vegetables. I include napa cabbage and green beans. Others would use pechay (Chinese cabbage) or regular cabbage instead, and add potatoes. Before adding the veggies, taste the broth if additional seasoning if needed. If you have to add, use a few dashes of fish sauce. Otherwise, salt should be fine as well. If the tenderness of the meat is close to where you want it, add the vegetables. Turn off heat once the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Serve this dish with a steaming white rice. To compliment the dish, you can prepare a dipping sauce of lemon juice and fish sauce. Great dish for cold nights or rainy days.

Ingredients
Beef (cut in cubes)
Onion
Salt
Ground Pepper
Pepper corn
Water
Napa Cabbage (or regular cabbage)
Green beans
Potatoes (optional)
fish sauce (optional)
Lemon juice (for optional dipping sauce)

Another Taco Party

Yesterday, we had another party. It was tacos, too. It was another St. Joseph family, and the event was a combination of graduation and despedida (or going away) of sorts as the host has sold their house and will be moving to the South Bay, closer to the school of one of their daughters. The guest list was a mix of school, neighbors, and family. And yes, it was tacos galore. There was also homemade tamales and lots of desserts and baked treats.

Long tables were places around the backyard, while the taco "stand" and the cold beverages were situated right next to the pool. Lights were strung across the yard, as small candles were scattered on top of tables -- all illuminated right after the sun set.

Like all the other parties of this host family, there was swimming for the kids, and drinking for the adults. As responsible adults, no one had one too many to drink. In keeping with the evening's theme, frozen margaritas and Corona beer, plus shots of tequila, were the beverages of choice. Later in the evening, the kids huddled over a fire pit for some roasted marshmallows and smores.

The evenings had been cooler the past few nights, including last night. Without any canopies, tents or umbrellas to shield from the elements, the cold temperature became quite unbearable as the evening progressed. It was just past 11pm when everyone started trickling inside the house. Within a few minutes, most were calling it a night and saying their goodbyes.

By 11:30pm, we were headed home as well.

A Winner At SBARA

It's the second Friday of the month, and it's SBARA's monthly general membership meeting. Since the wife arrived later in the evening, we didn't have enough time to eat dinner together before my 7:30pm meeting. So I went on my own, while my wife and James planned their night together.

I left the house at 6pm, and had dinner at my "default" Filipino restaurant, Cherry Garden. Meanwhile, wife and son decided to watch a movie before they had dinner. By 7:15, I was at the meeting venue, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

As in all our meetings, we had the customary raffle. Before the meeting started, we all perused the items being raffled off. This determined if it was worth participating in the raffle. Same with me. I saw a couple of interesting pieces  -- a portable remote weather station and $100 gift certificate from HRO (the ham radio candy store, as they call it). I purchased $10-worth of tickets. I placed 5 under the remote weather station, and 7 under the gift certificate.

Our guest speaker this evening was Chris (W6ATV), who talked about Amateur Television (ATV). His callsign is most appropriate, indeed. Since I do not have any idea about this aspect of amateur radio, I found the presentation very interesting. Chris was very knowledgeable about the topic, and he was just the right resource for this topic. There were lots of questions, and his talk ended 20 minutes past 9.

Now, the raffle. Aside from the two items I mentioned, there were 2 other items raffled off -- a handmade scarf by one of the club members, and an Extra Class Review Book. First on the block was the scarf. I was never interested in it so it didn't matter to me. Next was the book. I wasn't interested either since I was already an Extra class license holder. Then, came the weather station, but my number wasn't called. Oh well. There was one more.

As the raffle was going on, Don (N6DA) was making funny remarks about how we had been wanting to win a scarf, but never did. A big Oakland A's fan, he reacted when a green scarf was selected by the winner. He continued to make jokes as the final prize was being raffled off. And me, I was ready to give up since my winning any raffle has never been consistent.

"7726", "7726" was being announced. And I knew that was mine. I carefully went over my 12 sequentially-numbered tickets to confirm my hunch. And there it was, "7726". I approached the raffle table and secured my prize. Now this prize will surely come in handy -- $100-worth of goodies at the candy store. A great return on my investment, if I may say so.

Before we all left for the evening, a photograph of all 4 winners was taken, to be published in next month's club bulletin.

A Close Look At My Beef Kaldereta

I have been wanting to do a post on some of the dishes I prepare. During weekdays, I cook dinner for the family, while most weekends, we eat out. So each week, I plan for 4 meals, and do the necessary grocery shopping for ingredients every Saturday morning. If I don't do it by then, my laziness would kick in, and I will probably won't be cooking that week.

The dishes I prepare are nothing fancy. They are your typical Filipino fare, which you may call "comfort food." At lunch, at work or in school, we normally have non-Filipino food, so for dinner, we often look forward to a home-cooked meal that we are familiar with.

One of the favorite dishes I make is kalderetang baka, or the Pinoy version of beef stew. I love it because it is easy to cook, especially if I use a crock pot (or slow cooker). The recipe that I use is my mother's. Before I left Manila for the US many years ago, she gave me copies of her recipes, from  adobo and sinigang na baboy to paella and osso bucco.

I treat my mom's recipes as guides. They help me buy the necessary ingredients I need to make the dishes. And that's where it stops. I don't measure or strictly follow what's written on paper. Everything is mine. And the final outcome is truly my own -- good or bad. For the most part, they have been good and enjoyed by those who have tried them.

For my kalderetang baka, I will give you my mom's recipe towards the end of this post. For now, I will briefly describe the choices of ingredients I've made, and how I prepared the dish.

My meat is a combination beef chuck and shank, including bone & marrow. Both chuck and shank have  a certain amount of fat, which adds to the flavor of the meat. I also include the bone (and marrow), which further enhances the flavor of the dish. These are cut in cubes.

In a fairly large pot, pour olive oil and sautee garlic, onions, and bell peppers. Add a dash of salt and black ground pepper. I always do so whenever I sautee -- the start of my seasoning. Before it gets translucent, add the beef and make it slightly brown on the outside. Then, add more salt and pepper to taste.

After the meat has browned, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Add bay leaves, peppers (cayene, jalapeno, serrano, or thai chile), cayenne powder, and more black ground pepper. I like my kalderata a little spicy so I add more. You can vary this to your taste. As for the peppers, I make an incision on the skin but keep it whole. I then bring this to a boil.

Once it boils, taste the sauce. Transfer the contents of the pot to a crock pot, then add the potatoes. I add liverwurst (or liver spread) and grated cheese (jack,cheddar, and american) to thicken the sauce and enrich the flavor of the dish. The liverwurst is mixed and diluted all over, and the cheese is sprinkled on top. Cover the crock pot, and cook for 7-8 hours on slow, or until meat is super tender. This dish is best served with steaming jasmine rice.

Recipe

2 lbs sirloin
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp salt
1 pc bay leaf
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1.5 cup tomato sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pc red bell pepper
1.2 cup grated cheese
1 tbsp liver spread or liverwurst
2 pcs pepper (anaheim, serano, jalapeno, or thai chili) -- optional

Class Swim Party

On Saturday, we attended a swim party thrown by a couple of St. Joseph classmate-families -- the Chews and Gasiorowskis, at the latter's residence.

Originally planned as a BBQ afternoon, it turned into a taco shindig. Instead of hotdogs and burgers, there were carnitas, carne asada, and even al pastor. We've had taco-catered parties in the past, and this has become a huge hit. Less headache, easy to eat, and super delicious. Aside from the tacos (and all the fixings), guests brought various side dishes and desserts. And drinks of all sorts were aplenty.

Events like this is always a welcome excuse for parents to chat and catch up. And same goes for the kids, most of whom have not seen each other since graduation end of May. Most of the adults were gathered under a large canopy on the deck, while the kids were scattered all over the place -- playing basketball and swinging on a tire at one corner, and jumping up and down on the trampoline on the other.

Later in the afternoon, a volleyball game between the dads and the girls was played. Soon after, most of the kids headed to the pool for a much needed dip. Weather was perfect, and temperature was hot -- excellent for a nice, relaxing swim.

As in most parties of this class, this one ran late into the night. As the kids hung inside the house, busy texting and playing with their cellphones, the adults remained outdoors under the canopy, enjoying a few drinks and lots of conversation.

The temperature dipped a little bit and it became chilly. By then, it was past midnight and everyone headed inside. We helped the host clean up a bit before we headed out. It was almost 1am.

Strike Ends

Finally, the BART strikes ended today, with the trains rolling at 3pm.

 I stayed up for the late news to find out if there were any developments. It really didn't matter to me since I was off today, but my wife had to go to the city, and the strike has caused her lots of misery, like everyone else. Sometime past 10:30pm, I got a text alert informing me that an "agreement" has been reached and that the strike was over. Immediately after, the 10:00pm news I was watching went on a live feed to deliver the breaking news.

Well, there was NO agreement. What they agreed upon was to extend the existing contract by 30 days, and to return to work as early as 3pm Friday. However, negotiations between BART management and unions reps will continue while the extension is in place. Now, if no contract is agreed upon and signed by the end of the extension, then there is a possibility of another strike.

Whether a new contract will even be agreed upon is the $64 question. Knowing how contentious the negotiations have been in the past few days, it will take a lot of concessions and a great deal of patience on both sides. At the end of the day, I hope that both protagonists keep the riding public's interest in mind, and not their personal (selfish) agendas.

To the smart legislators of California, particularly those in the Bay Area, I think it would be prudent to pass legislation banning the striking of union workers in the transportation industry because of the economic impact it may cause (or has caused) in the region. If New York City and Chicago are able to implement this, why can't we?

Mr. Congressman and Ms. Senator, you may want to ride BART and see how it feels when it goes offline....

Hops & Hominy Experience

Remember James' little "test" trip to Oakland on Friday? Let's pick it up from there. We're now in the city, and headed for Hops & Hominy.

This Southern-style restaurant was featured on The Food Network's "Road Trip with G. Garvin." Until then, I've never heard of them. Since Southern food is one of my favorites, and is hard to find, especially in my neck of the woods, it was something I'd like to try. It is located at the end of a (very) short alley (Tillman) off Sutter and Grant streets in the Union Square area of San Francisco.

As we walked up a short flight of stairs to the entrance, we were greeted by a hostess, who showed us to our reserved table, up a few steps to a loft-like dining section on the right side of the restaurant. On the opposite side was the larger, lower main dining area with a bar towards the corner. The place had an industrial/plantation-like atmosphere. For a space that's not too big, it was darn LOUD and NOISY. I was a little surprised that it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be considering it was a Friday night.

Cornbread & Whipped Butter

Once seated, our server introduced himself and gave us menus. It was so noisy I didn't hear his name nor hardly understood what he was saying. I felt he was rushing all the time. The section where we were seated at was a bit dark. Reading the menu became a struggle. The table next to us had to use his cellphone as flashlight so we can see what he was reading.

The menu wasn't extensive. It contained a few traditional Southern favorites so selecting what to eat didn't take that long. I pretty much get the same type of dish, as I love to compare. It's my barometer whether or not a restaurant is worth coming back to.

All three of us ordered there most popular dish, Buttermilk Battered Chicken. It's organic and free-range, served with creamed collard greens and cornbread on the side. For starters, James and I got Baked Mac & Cheese, while the wife got Fried Oysters, encrusted in cornmeal, with a pepper mignonette for dipping. While we waited for our dishes, complimentary corn bread on a small hot skillet, with whipped butter, was served.

Mac & Cheese

The mac & cheese came in small, rectangular skillets -- same as the cornbread. It appeared to have been baked well, with a nice crust on the melted cheese on top, and sprinkled with bits of bacon. The macaroni was cooked well and the cheese(s) that held everything together was quite creamy and rich. I thought it was a bit too much for one person, but I finished mine nonetheless. It was good, but not as good as Pican's gouda mac n' cheese. Even without bacon, Pican's was rich, flavorful, and truly sinful.

The fried oysters were HUGE. I've had fried oysters before but I have never seen anything as big. The amount of cornmeal was just right, and the oysters remained tender and quite moist. The dipping sauce complimented the entire dish. Again, I thought the portion was a bit too much for one, as I had two pieces myself.

Fried Oysters

Now, the main course. Mary's free-range chicken. It came in 3 pieces, with a side of creamed collard greens in a (small) ramekin typically used for dipping sauces and a piece of cornbread. The chicken was drizzled with a little bit of hot sauce. As soon as I saw the chicken, I knew it wasn't crispy. True enough, it wasn't. As a matter of fact, the batter hardly stuck to the chicken. It looked like half the batter fell off before it even reached the fryer.

What did I think? For crispness, I gave it an "F", for fail. And the hot sauce, drizzling it over the chicken didn't do the dish any good. It should have just been served on the side. One consolation though. The chicken was moist and tender. If I was blindfolded and didn't know it was suppose to be fried, I could have mistaken it for being slightly overbaked or left in the rotisserie just a tad too long. Whether that's good or bad, you be the judge.

Buttermilk Battered Chicken

Like the other dishes, I felt 3 pieces were a bit too much. But the pieces were a little bit small, so I guess it was OK. I didn't finish mine and left some meat on the breast (I hate white meat). If I didn't have the mac & cheese, I could have finished everything. Overall, the chicken was a "D" -- for disaster. Pardon my bias, but Hops' fried chicken pales in comparison to Pican's. Theirs come in 2 large pieces that are super crispy, yet tender and moist, the way real Southern fried chicken should be.

Peach Cobbler

We had two desserts -- a chocolate cake something and peach cobbler. I was surprised they didn't have their desserts listed on the menu. We had to listen to the server as he rattled off each one. We had to have him repeat it because we didn't remember everything he said. It was kind of awkward because you're put on the spot to make a selection, or worse case, not order any. There was no time to think it over. I didn't try the chocolate thing, but both wife and son said it was good. My peach cobbler was super rich and super sweet. The peaches were roasted (or grilled), served in halves, and temperature hot. They were quite tangy, too. I would have enjoyed it had it been less sweet and the peaches cut in smaller pieces. But I have yet to try a peach cobbler that won't make you a diabetic.

Final verdict. The experience wasn't bad. It was OK. Certainly nothing to rave or go gaga about. The noise just killed me, and the chicken was a major disappointment. It'll probably take me a (long) while before I come back, if ever.

Hops & Hominy is located at 1 Tillman Place, San Francisco, CA 94108. (415) 373-6341.

After 3 Days, Still On Strike

The second day of the BART strike was yesterday, Tuesday. Both sides have not progressed, and negotiations appeared to have stalled.

For me, it was another uneventful day working from home. Without any distractions, it gave me a chance to work on a training deck on compensation for managers. I designed the original material back in 2007 as part of a larger development initiative for managers. That program ran for a few years until it got shelved 3 or so years ago. Personally, I still see the need to continuously administer such program as we get new managers into the organization, as well as a refresher for those who have been around for sometime.

Today was Day 3 of the strike, and like yesterday, no movement. I continued to work from home, as in the past 2 days. It was business as usual. I called into our 2-hour regular staff meeting at 9am, as did my co-workers who relied on BART to get to/from work. After that, I resumed my work on the training deck. My only complaint was the heat. For the past few days, the temperature had been unusually high, in the 90s. Since I don't have airconditioning in the house, it felt like hell (not that I know how it is down there).

Later in the evening, James and I grabbed a bite at Five Guys since the wife was out for a meeting. From there, we decided to watch a movie -- Monsters University. It was alright, but nothing beats the original Monsters, Inc.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July holiday. I have no idea if BART and the unions will ever reach an agreement anytime soon. The last strike in 1997 lasted 6 days so this one might last just as long, if not longer. Who knows? Since I took Friday off, it doesn't really impact me a whole lot. But it does my wife, since she has to go to the city.

Let's hope something more positive happens. Fingers-crossed.

Author would like to acknowledge Disney Pixar for the use of the photograph in this post.

Take 2: Chop Bar

Facade

Last Saturday, I had planned on going to Oakland to pick-up my laptop from the office, just in case there
was a BART strike the following Monday, so I could work from home. To take advantage of the trip, we'd pass by the Tokyo Fish Market to check out what they sold. I've never been to the place, and I've heard the quality of seafood is really good. If you wanted sushi grade fish, I was told this was the place to go.

We started the day rather late. My wife had made plans for a mani/pedi at 2pm and couldn't reschedule. I didn't want to rush my first trip to the fish market, so we cancelled. But I still needed to go to Oakland. The only other thing we could do was to have lunch in the area. And the task of identifying a good place to eat proved to be more complicated than I thought.

My wife craved for hot pot, so we headed to a "popular" one in Chinatown, per Yelp. When we got there, the place wasn't inviting to the eyes, so we didn't bother to stop and just drove off. I had to come up with Plan B quickly because we were running out of time. I recalled going to a hip place near Jack London Square with my co-workers awhile back. I suggested Chop Bar.

Chop Burger

If you haven't been to Chop Bar, this place is neatly tucked amidst commercial/industrial buildings and warehouses across from Jack London Square on 4th Street. You'd never know it was there. The first and only time I was there a few months back, I wasn't blown away by the experience. It was OK but nothing great. I guess I just ordered the wrong food. The lamb burger just didn't work for me that day. I love lamb cooked in any way, but definitely not as a burger. It just didn't work.

When we got there, it was almost noon and street parking was full. We had to circle the block twice before we chanced upon a car pulling out right in front of the restaurant. We came at the right time because we were seated right away. A few minutes later, the place reached capacity, and people had to wait to be seated. The front side of the restaurant sort of opened up to street, which gave it a feel of dining al fresco minus the umbrella and the sun. Temperature was hovering in the mid 80s, but the light breeze made it quite comfortable.

Grilled Pork Banh Mi

I didn't realize they had brunch. As I scanned the menu, I didn't see the dreaded lamb burger. Good. Nothing caught my fancy, so I settled for the Chop burger, served on a kaiser roll with aioli, bacon, avocado, tomato,  and a side of baby arugula salad. My wife had the classic Vietnamese grilled pork banh mi sandwich, with cilantro, chilies, Thai basil aioli, and a side of picked vegetables, while James had homemade chorizo, with scrambled eggs, home fries, and pico de gallo on the side. To share, we tried the almond french toast, which was challah with caramelized apples, honey almonds, and whipped cream.

The burger was a tiny bit smaller than your typical. However, this burger was packed with flavor. I've had my share of burgers, but this one, I think, is probably the most flavorful I've ever had without really trying to stand out. It never claimed to be one in its menu so I am particularly happy with this one. You could taste the real flavor of the quality meat that was used in this patty, and it wasn't masked by any unique spice or the usual grill taste you get from any burger. No need for catsup, mustard, or anything of that sort. My wife and son took a bite and both agreed. And it was served hot (temperature, not spicy). I don't recall having a burger served that hot. The accompanying baby arugula salad, with its light dressing of what looked like olive oil and lemon, was just perfect. Despite the slight bitter taste, arugula is one of the (very) few salads I love.

Chorizo & Scrambled Egg

My wife enjoyed her banh mi. She's had her share of banh mis as well, but she definitely liked this one. It was simple, yet flavorful. The pork was marinated well and was grilled to perfection. Tender, light. And the Thai basil aioli was an excellent compliment to the crunchy baguette. My son had a bite of it, and was convinced he needed one to go for his snack later in the day.

James went through his chorizo and scrambled eggs like he hadn't eaten in days. He wasn't too particular about chorizo and would skip it as his first choice of breakfast meat. He didn't need convincing when I suggested that he try it. He simply enjoyed it and wanted more. The side of home fries had a light crusting and looked yummy. But other than your regular french fries, he isn't a potato kind of guy. And the side of pico de gallo was a refreshing twist to this dish.

My only disappointment was the french toast. Although the caramelized apples and honey almonds complimented the dish, I wasn't too happy with the challah. It was a little bit firm for my taste. So far, nothing beats my all-time favorite french toast at Left Bank. Their challah is so soft and super moist that it literally melts in your mouth. Chop Bar's version wasn't bad. The 2 rather large slices of challah, and the toppings that came with it, were filling and tasty. But I like it a little more moist than that.

Almond French Toast

Coffee was perfect. Rich. Strong. Fresh. Characteristics of an EXCELLENT coffee. I have coffee everyday. I prefer a dark roast, and take mine black -- just like what we had. We had a couple of cocktails, too, but I just could not remember what they were. They were good, though. Light and refreshing. Great for a summer brunch.

My second visit to Chop Bar totally changed my initial skepticism of the place. It was a fun, little place in an unlikely location. Great experience. I would surely come back. And I certain would like to try coming for dinner. I might be in for another surprise.

Chop Bar is located at 247 4th Street, #111, Oakland, CA 94607 (4th & Alice).  510-834-2467.

BART Strikes

BART is on strike. Today was their first day. The union contracts ended Sunday, June 30. Before it did, no new agreements were reached. About 72 hours prior, all the BART unions voted to strike. And so they did.

The impact of the strike was pretty wide spread, with thousands of riders between San Francisco and the East Bay affected. Estimates ranged from 200,00 to 400,000 riders. Without trains rolling, you can imagine the chaos and nightmare this created. If even half of these riders came to work, just imagine how many more cars would be on the already crowded roads and freeways, or much longer would the lines at the bus stops and ferry terminals be?

In my department, there are 3 of us who take BART to work. The week prior, my boss told us to bring our laptops home on Friday just in case there was a strike. As you know, I went to the city with my son, James, on Friday, so I didn't bring my laptop with me. Instead, I drove to the office on Saturday and picked it up.

Midnight Sunday (well, it was Monday, July 1st), I was glued to the TV waiting for the latest development. And it came, as expected -- a BART strike. Almost immediately, I got a text from a co-worker, who lives in San Francisco, informing me of the same news. By then, it was time to call it a day, for tomorrow was a new workday. At least, I didn't have to dress up for it.

Aside from one conference call in the morning, it was pretty much a quiet day. I kept tuned over the radio to get updates on the strike and how horrible the commute was from almost everywhere. There were people who have not taken any other public transportation before other than BART, and they all seemed lost and confused. Trips that would normally take 45 minutes took almost 3 hours. In the city, it took drivers 1.5 hours to travel 2 miles.

From what I've heard in the news, it doesn't look like any agreement will be reached between the union and BART management anytime soon. This may mean an extended strike. The last BART strike in 1997 lasted 6 days. We'll just have to see if that record will be broken.

Author would like to acknowledge sfgate.com for the use of the photograph in this post.