DanRochman.com

I’m a long way from Kauai - in more ways than one. The National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas. So Em and I are very, very cold. Back in Canada, we just might be toasty warm in an R-2000 home. Sadly, here in San Francisco, in a home built around 1905, insulation is just a fantasy - the indoor temp at our place is generally within a couple of degrees of the outside temperature. We have a gas heater mounted in the wall in our living room, but we never use it. It uses tons of gas, and (because of the way this place was built) only really heats the area within about a foot of the heater itself. We’ve also got a small (electric-powered) oil-filled portable radiator, but at roughly 700 Watts, it pains me to run it. I remain, however, a loyal fan of the (relatively) energy-efficient electric blanket on our bed. Since it’s sandwiched between the mattress and the comforter, it’s only heating a relatively tiny and well-insulated space. Unfortunately, I can’t stay in bed all day - I know, I’ve tried. One day, we’ll live in a place that isn’t built like a doll’s house, and it will be toasty in that place. Oh, yes - it will be toasty.

In other news, ALL FOUR of the Richmond Hill Rochmans (well, Spunky can’t type - can he?) have commented on the blog now (hi, guys!), so the family has officially arrived. No sign of the Thornhill Rochmans yet, but they can’t be far behind. Oh, and while I’m pretty sure that Mom hasn’t been by yet, I know that she’s already heard that I’ve got a web site. I also know that Mom’s condo in Florida has just been wired up with broadband internet access (hi, Moni!), so now it’s just a matter of time before someone (hi, Moni!) shows her the site.

I’ve always been pretty careful about self-censoring my blog. I haven’t had to worry about being expelled from Sudan, but these days you can’t be too careful. And from here on out I have to remember that MY FAMILY could be reading this. My brother Rammy (hi, Ram!) stumbled across this blog a couple of weeks back, and then my mom mentioned it on a call (hi, Mom!), and then my nephew Ariel (hi, Air!) told me in an e-mail that he’s seen it, too. So my plans for a serialized, autobiographical, familial tell-all will have to be put on hold.

In today’s local news, it’s relatively cold (52F/11C) here, and it’s been raining pretty much all day - the upside of which is that Em and I are, at this moment, cozied up on the couch, each of us gazing lovingly into our respective notebook. Such is modern life. Em’s doing work-related stuff on her notebook, and I’m taking a break from doing the same to get a blog post in. I still haven’t gotten around to uploading any pictures from our honeymoon in Kauai, but until I get around to it please enjoy this little video clip that I shot on the water slide at our hotel. Note the cameo by Em at the very end of the clip. Oh, and we’d both just had a Hawaiian Pedicure at the hotel’s Anara Spa, which is why my toenails look so good - blue is definitely my color.