Sponsored by American River Skeptics, the event starts at 6:60 PM at Sacramento Brewing Co. (2713 El Paseo Ln.) According to the events organizer the focus of the first meeting will be meeting everyone, discussing future events, and how everyone came to the skeptic movement. I’m sure we’ll manage to fit a drink or two in there as well.

I’ll be there, anyone else?

• “Low morale and a high rate of turnover among employees, especially key management personnel.
• “Lax oversight that led to felony charges being issued against two library officials accused in an overbilling scheme involving maintenance work at library branches.
• “A ‘major problem with uncollected fines’ totaling $2.5 million. Since the report’s release in May, the library has concluded it gave incorrect information to the grand jury and that that actual total of unpaid fines and value of unreturned materials is $4.6 million”

In addition the grand jury recommended that Gold be fired. The library board is meeting today to determine how to respond. They’ve also already spent $300,000 on their own”performance  audit”.

As a devoted reader and regular patron of the library, I’m not at all happy about all of this. Not only at the apparent waste that’s been taking place, but also at the extra money that’s being proposed to investigate it further.

Regardless, I suggest you visit your local library soon.

Additionally:

“The Sacramento Association of Realtors reported that 35.3 percent of sales in the county and in West Sacramento were for homes priced below $200,000 in April.”

I’m not at all surprised by that, are you?

How will you be staying cool?

As I mentioned back on Thursday, my wife and I just had an anniversary. To mark the occasion this weekend we got new tattoos. Specifically we got each other’s initials on our ring fingers.

We got the work done at Serenity Body Art at S and 12th Street. The shop is only a few blocks from our apartments, so we wanted to give it a try. We’re both very glad we did. Jim, the tattoo artist, and his wife Vicky (a piercer) run the shoptogether and are really friendly people. You won’t get any of the “attitude” that sometimes comes with body art, and as you will see from the link, Jim’s art is top notch.

We’d never been in the shop before, and after getting our fingers done, we’ve both got plans to  go back for more work in the coming month.

Where do you like to go to celebrate? Waterboy? Masons? Let us know where and why!

I’ve been seeing these yellow Fargo for Mayor signs all over the neighborhood around my office. Today on my lunch I saw this cluster (and there’s even more outside the frame on the left!) and was moved to post

At present, I don’t have a dog in this race, but I have to admit that these signs bug the hell out of me. They’re ugly for one, but… “Progress!” Is that really an advisable slogan for someone aiming at a third term in office? My vote for that would be a No.

One of my favorite places to spend time and take photos is the City Cemetery on Broadway by Riverside. It’s absolutely gorgeous this time of year, and there’s always something unexpected to see there. The photo above was taken there, and there’s a few more after the bump.

I did a quick search of the blog, and I can’t believe no one has mentioned Beers Books before. They’re at 915 S Street, right between 9th & 10th. This puts them across the street from tasty Chinese food at Gam Lei Sig and right by several bars. This was all a big part of me moving into the neighborhood, let me tell you.

In particular I’d like to talk about their “sidewalk sale”. One of the things I love about warmer months is biking past Beers on my way home from work and looking through new $1 hardcovers and 50 cent paperbacks. Just this week I picked up hardcovers, in decent shape, of The Confusion and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell for $1 each.

If you’re in the neighborhood, I recommend checking the place out.

Hey everybody, I’m Sasha. cd invited me to join as an author here based on some photos I’ve posted to the Flickr pool. Being more of a photographer than a writer, expect to see plenty of images from me. I’m a history geek, as well as a cocktail and bar nerd, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see posts relating to those as well. My day job is in the construction business, which may also provide fodder for a post now and then.

Anyhow, hello there and please enjoy the photo while I work up my real first post.