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I like the time of morning when the sun shines only through the top half of the clouds, their peaks snow white and their bellies a gentle shade of blue-gray.

Today is my birthday and I'm treating myself with a train ride to work. In honor of my big day, the local transit agencies are offering free rides to everybody until 1 PM. At least that's what they told me. The fact that it's the second Spare the Air day of the year is sheer coincidence.

I thought about taking the day off, but there's an important meeting I need to attend this afternoon. A random reader might say, "It's your day. Skip the meeting." To which I might reply, "I would, but there are only three people attending and I think they'd notice if I wasn't there... at least I hope they would."

With the exception of an exciting sushi dinner tonight (mmm... sushi), I'm expecting today to be mellow, which I must admit is just the way I want it to be. I don't mind big noisy bashes just as long as they aren't big noisy bashes for me.

If I had the day off, I would have driven to the coast. Escaping from the minor heat wave to someplace like La Selva Beach or Pajaro Dunes sounds extremely enticing.

Since I'm planning to hike in the Forest of Nisene Marks this weekend, this article (found on Two-Heel Drive) about two mountain bikers injured in the park earlier this week caught my eye. According to the rangers, it was one of the worst biking accidents they've seen in recent memory. Both bikers suffered life-threatening injuries, but are said to be in stable condition. I'm thankful they weren't killed.

The story worries me because part of my planned hike will be on a steep and curvy fire road used by mountain bikers. The last thing I want is to have a biker zip down the mountain and run me off the road or veer off a cliff to avoid crashing into me. The likelihood of it happening is small, but it's still cause for concern.

For local Discworld fans, I just read that Terry Pratchett will be signing books at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, September 25 at 7:30 PM, as part of his Making Money tour. The last time I saw him speak was two years ago, when he visited Capitola.