Toxic

Bwo says that the blog is boring without pictures. It's a sad commentary on the state of my writing. So above you have a picture of the sun rising over McClellan, CA, home of many pawn shops and payday loan offices. Now after two packed days at a Squinter's conference in McClellan, a converted Air Force Base, I'm back in Folsom. We stayed in a hotel that was a once some sort of barracks. There was much complaining from the squints, but I had a huge room which was once probably some General's quarters. I think all the plumbing in the whole thousand person edifice went through my room, so I spent much of my jet lagged nights listening to the wooshing and gurgling of remote toilet flushes. I found this interesting titbit on Wikipedia:

McClellan has been designated as a Superfund site, because the Environmental Protection Agency has identified 326 waste areas on the base. Water wells closest to the base in the Rio Linda-Elverta district, have had the highest levels of hexavalent chromium, which is a known carcinogen. Water from six of 11 wells tested above the state’s maximum contaminant levels for chromium-6, which is 10 parts per billion.

I did drink quite a lot of tap water, so I hope I don't grow an extra eye. Mind you, super powers (like the ability to understand how to talk to my wife so she doesn't get upset) would be nice.

Last night I got to sleep at my regular home in Folsom, the Residence Inn at Ironpoint and East Bidwell. Keeping with tradition I walked over to Chipotle for my favorite, a veggie burrito. Bwo alerted me to the troubles they have been having with Salmonella and E-Coli. I had no idea that Chipotle had numerous contamination issues, seeing as I only listen to the BBC and hear no internal US news. But, once again I took my chances after having braved the toxins of McCellan and enjoyed my dinner. After eating I took a stroll along the shops and wandered into a PetsMart. I was thinking how pathetic it is that once upon a time I would have to go shopping at places like Toys R Us for gifts for the kids, now it's stuff for the dog. Needless to say I was completely intimidated by the trillions of toys and chews and brushes, so I quickly ducked out of there and hurried back to the hotel where I was asleep by 8pm. Only one more day here in Northern California before the 6 am flight to Houston and the warmth of the family.