Random thoughts

Thoughts driving in this morning:

Most of our freeways have those ‘New Jersey barriers’ lining the sides and the center divider. I wonder why there are so many rubber tire marks on both sides, indicating a lot of cars have scraped up the barriers. Are people really that bad at driving?

The sun is just peaking over the eastern mountains directly in front of me when I come around the curve from 215 to the 95. The freeways don’t have lane divider lines painted on the pavement but instead have the plastic reflective ‘Botts dots’ markers. These shine white in the headlights, indicating where to drive, and produce rumbling sounds when you drive over them, indicating you are drifting out of your lane. The back side is red, indicating you are driving in the wrong direction. Can’t use them in cold country where snow plows would tear them off the road, but that’s not a problem here. Looking in my rear view mirror all of the dots are bright red spots shining brightly in the orange morning sun lighting up the path I came from.

Getting out of my car in the parking lot there is a strong yeasty warm odor. There is a big building just off the freeway where Wonder Bread and other snacks are baked, releasing into the morning air the aroma of fresh bread. It’s different than the clear desert air we usually have.

The palm trees around the office are filled with little birds, a few of them are chirping morning songs quite loudly, sounding even louder than the radio in my car that I just got out of. They are different than the mockingbird songs around my house, shorter and not as lilting, but still quite pleasant.

Last week was pleasantly warm, but this week a cold front is coming down from the north. Going from an April 1 high of 33c (92f) to a high of just 14c (58f) tomorrow, with strong winds outside the window right now and rain possible.