Excellent news article

"Much is now being written and broadcast in the California news media and national publications, such as the New York Times, about [...] first Mother Lode gold mine to restart in decades." More.

Social Security Burger

Today's lunch: cheeseburger + fries, in the In-n-Out. Co-workers rave about the chain. But they were also raving about Taco Bell...

"What, you've never had Taco Bell before?"

"Lucky you!!"

"Boy, are you in for a treat!!!"

So while I take a bite, they're all watching me like fireworks on New Year's Eve.

I take a bite - turns out the thing is garbage...

"Yeah, this is not bad!" *eking out my best smile*

Now, the In-n-Out burger was indeed not bad: still a little bland, but surprisingly non-greasy, and the fries were very nice - cut in-house from potatoes, and you can taste that.

Downside: they're constantly yelling numbers (orders that are ready for pick-up at the counter). Makes you want to leave ASAP.

It's really the exception for me to order a fastfood lunch, but today I was in Sacramento with a co-worker. I'd gone all the way down there to the social security office (in person, sigh, to get some piece of paper) and he happened to be around and picked me up on the way back to the work site. That way I only lost half a day, instead of a full one, frigging social secur#$@%#%/*&!!

Sunshine State

Sunshine before, during, and after work - it's unbelievable:

For comparison:

Not so 'hot' right now... I hope you guys get your fair share of sunshine soon!

Gold rush

After work I sneaked into the small movie theatre at work where the visitors get to see a documentary on the gold rush, before they go on the underground tour. What got me on the edge of my seat were their descriptions of the gold seekers: the most entrepreneurial and risk-taking young men moved West to try their luck, populated California (San Francisco went from a few hundred inhabitants to hundreds of thousands, overnight!) and still define its culture (is it a coincidence Silicon Valley is exactly here? And all those venture capitalists? ).

This makes me think of that other gold rush going on today, or rather commodities rush. Whether it's young New Zealanders seeking their fortune in the Australian mines, or 20-year-olds earning 6 figures driving dump trucks in Fort McMurray, or someone like me just looking for an exciting career in the middle of the action, it's the friggin' same thing!

From tourism to digging

We're in the press! A whole series of newspapers have written about us.

This is an older article about the project.