Sometime this afternoon, the radio at work went silent, and a flash flood warning in Marin County came on.

Not a bad time to start beliving in Mother Nature, cause I’m pretty sure she is effing pissed off at us right about now.

Tuesday was probably one of the most depressing days to be at school, or work, and I honestly blame the weather that day.

You know it’s gonna be a bad day when a puddle forms on your shoe from walking just 5 minutes in the rain.

So yeah. I know I’ve been known to be happy when it rains, but enough is enough. Let the sun out for a while so we can be a bit more productive.

Kick-ass parties. But I’m not here to talk to you about the parties. And I can’t. Since last fall, I’ve been missing out on some really good ones cause I live a little too far North, and hate taking the Golden Gate 80 (and it’s 4 billion stops before getting into the city) to get to ONE party.

And what do I miss out on? Schwag. Some of the best schwag come from these parties, and damnit… I’m tired of missing out.

Fortunately, the wonderful folks at Ruby Red Labs have heard my cry, and have a wonderful solution. Valley Schwag:

Out here in the Valley (Silicon Valley, that is) we’re well known for cookin’ up a mean tech company. But our real legacy is our schwag–the t-shirts, ballcaps, notepads, stickers, keychains, and other booty blaring the slogans that create new industries (and sometimes landfill, sorry to say). Until now, these world-class collectibles have only been available to the elite few who make it to conventions and insider parties. Now you can have a little piece of the valley without the $3000 rent and two hour commute.

Amen brothers (and sisters). Take my money, gimme my schwag and nobody gets hurt. =)

I did not know about this till later that morning, when I was helping a friend shoot infomercials and his models could not show up. They were coming from San Francisco and San Jose, while we were shooting in Corte Madera.

On the way in, I took some footage of the wreck and the traffic jam that pretty much spanned from a little bit after the Golden Gate Bridge up to the 19th Avenue exit.

• Huge pileup in sudden blizzard
  Two die on Marin highway: Waldo Grade turns slippery, deadly in early morning - SF Gate
• Aftermath of 28 Car Pile Up on US 101 North - YouTube

Have you ever noticed that the BART Train driver sticks his/her head out to make sure people are still trying to board, or leave trains, especially during rush hour? I don’t know about you, but that brings a ‘feel good’ vibe to me, especially after my last trip.

In Kuala Lumpur, there are several rail transportation systems, servicing different places. One of them is called PutraLRT. Putra LRT does not have a driver. Yep, run by computer. Efficient? I question that.

It’s pretty good in terms of time, but here’s why. The computer thinks it knows when you are are done embarking and disembarking from the train. This train (see pic) I was trying to get on? Before passengers were done disembarking, it shut its doors and took off. The look of one female who was trying to get off was priceless.

2nd time around, the same thing was about to happen again. I was just about ready to get on the train and the doors started shutting again. I pretty much threw myself in (the doors do stop if it detects people *caught* in it).

And one other thing (praising BART again) when a train gets full, the conductor will get on the PA System and tell you to move your ass onto other trains.

On Sunday, January 1, 2006, BART fares will increase by 3.7%. This is the first fare increase since January 2004.

The 3.7% increase is based on a formula that accounts for changes in inflation, both locally and nationally, reduced by .5% to account for increased operating efficiencies achieved by BART.

So be sure to hit up that Quickplanner before you head on out.

And for those of you planning on patronizing BART for New Year’s Eve:

The best way to celebrate New Year’s Eve is by leaving your car at home and using BART’s “New Year’s Eve Flash Pass,” good for unlimited rides on BART throughout the holiday evening.

The special New Year’s Eve Flash Pass costs just $6 and gets you unlimited rides on BART from 6 p.m. Saturday, December 31 to 3 a.m. Sunday, January 1.

Riders with passes simply flash them to the BART Station Agent and pass through the station entrance swing gate. No need to use the fare gates!

“The coldest winter I’ve ever spent, was a summer in San Francisco” Or something like that.

I usually look at my weather widget every morning before leaving, so I can dress appropriately for the day. This happens when you walk to school every day and it’s about 3 miles each way.

When I saw it this morning, I was like… “No… that can’t be right.” Dressed appropriately anyway.

When I got outside, I felt my ears instantly freeze up and fall off my head.

One of my neighbor’s started a fire underneath her car engine to give it a cold start. An alaskan malamute told me he was heading back to Alaska where it was much warmer. And our landlord is installing a fireplace right next to our already functioning heater.

So yes Mark, it’s that cold. Not that I’m complaining, since this weather prepares me for Snowboarding Lake Tahoe. w00t.

…too bad I’m not.

This may not be the kind of rain that takes your eye out, but man is it cold when it hits your neck.

Plus it seems like all kinds of animals are out. I tried to lure a stray kitty out so I could take care of it. No animal should be out in the cold night.

Well, maybe with the exception of the frogs. I’m glad I used my flashlight, as my shoes probably would’ve been a murderer to at least 3 of these guys.

I guess I’ll just have to live with the fact Winter is here, and that I’m somewhat lucky I’m not in SF where the rain will probably come in all directions.

Coming from a monsoon season country like Malaysia, you’d think I’d had it with rain. Nah, not at all.

Unlike Malaysia, rain around here does not have the ability of hurting you. Yes, a drop of rain in Malaysia could take out your eye. I had to wear raincoats to school. Here, I can stay dry even in a sweatshirt. And keep my eye.

Though with all the events happening around the world, I wonder how much rain I’ll get to see again. I remember two years ago when rain started in September, as my roommate grabbed me and stuck me under a roof drain pipe back in the dorms at Sonoma State University. Mother Nature seems pissed off at us, and not enough people seemed phased about it.

Amazingly enough, this pic was not taken in the San Francisco. This was taken on campus at Sonoma State University, and even though the pic does not exactly show why this is such a bad parking spot, trust me on this. You can clearly see this is not a parking spot.

I guessed the car belonged to a band that was performing University Commons. And as you can see, just cause you are a band, you can’t park anywhere, cause you will get ticketed. And how.

Heading home today, in a mad rush to catch the 1:45PM Golden Gate Transit Bus 80, I came across this effer parked on Second Street not just in my way but just about every one elses.

C’mon now, I don’t think any of the stores it was parked RIGHT OUTSIDE OFF were even open.

The nerve…. the nerve I say!