Baseball in late October. Nothing like it. One heck of a Game One. Still, I wish it were the Oakland A’s instead of the San Francisco Giants. In some alternate universe, it is…

Can’t say I am a fan of some of the things coming along in plans for a certain theme park in Anaheim. Walt envisioned a place where families could all enjoy their time together. Not to squeeze every last penny out of their pockets. But you can’t blame the company for trying. If folks keep paying the prices, the stockholders are happy.

And it’s the season of ghouls and zombies, too. Every four years we get some of the finest theater ever presented. Is it just me or has Mitt really got his ironic smile down pat? One of the scariest since Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”. The shame is that Mitt won’t be eligible for an Oscar for his performance. Speaking of scary, Donald Trump’s hair.

So, it seems that fall has really come to Northern California. Complete with rain and snow. And colder temperatures, too. Time to get out the extra blankets and light the pilot light on that heater.

Was nice to hear Tom Hanks give such a big plug about the Walt Disney Family Museum during a recent appearance on David Letterman’s show. After his two recent visits and time spent with Diane Disney Miller, there may be hope for “Saving Mr. Banks” after all.

On the subject of Mr. Hanks, how is it that he isn’t getting some kind of chance to throw out the first pitch at an A’s or Giants game? Many years back, he certainly threw enough peanuts around the Coliseum and Candlestick to earn such an opportunity. Celebrity that he is now, it seems appropriate. If the A’s can summon the spirit of the 80’s and invite MC Hammer to open a game, why not?

Christmas is coming, too. This year is the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens. Should be a great time at the Great Dickens Christmas Faire. Some new actors in great roles, an extra weekend (five instead of the usual four) and extended hours. London promises to be in fine spirits this year during the holiday season. And of course, what would a visit be without tea at Cuthbert’s?

On the big screen, of course I am waiting to see “The Hobbit“. And “Cloud Atlas” looks interesting as well. Can’t help but lament the end of film prints, but am glad to see studios re-releasing classics for the big screen again. Wonder when Disney will start again? Before the growth of home video, that seven year plan seemed to work so well. Glad to see a few titles coming along, but 3D isn’t for every one or every film. Would hate to see “Gone With The Wind” get that treatment.

Another day, week, month, year. Where does the time go and what happened to all those folks who made things so good then?

Perhaps it is time for some Hot Buttered Rum…

Ah, the joys of the Internet…

I do enjoy reading c0mments from you, my loyal readers. Always glad to know you enjoy something or learn a bit of extra goodness to go along with a post.

But, I really can do without all the bots that seem to have found the blog. You name it, I get comments about it. The usual little blue pills or how to enhance one’s love life. Links to purchase all kinds of stuff. Every thing but porn. That one I expected but seem to have been spared so far.

And even though I use my trusty Mac to handle the duties, I am not free of malware attacks. Or at least, attempted ones.

Moderating the site’s comments takes me back to some of my earliest days online. Back in the stone age, on AOL, roaming message boards, looking for naughty words or testy comments about the lineage of a poster who dared suggest someone’s favorite actor might have a fandom of a particular flavor. When life online was simpler. Nostalgia, take me away!

It really is too bad that all this has taken on the name it has. With a negative connotation. Spam. Meat in a can that has a cult following all it’s own. I can even admit to enjoying it. A sandwich of a slice or two of this canned conglomeration on white bread with mustard and ketchup. Takes me back to summer days as a Boy Scout at camp. I can taste it now… Spam musubi, too. An occasional favorite at L&L.

But, all this is part of the joy of having a blog. And I guess I will continue the slog. Even as the spammers continue their efforts.

Such is life online.

To finish today, an ode to Spam. You know you like it…

It never hurts to be a fan of the underdog.

And if like me, you are a fan of this year’s Oakland Athletic’s, we are indeed the underdog.

For one, we should not even be discussing this. Anyone recall that we went into the month of September way behind the Texas Rangers. We were supposed to be out of it by then. If one listened to various pundits, the A’s were heading for another losing season. Building for the future. The same excuse we’ve heard for all too many years.

You can question Lew Wolfe and his approach to baseball. It is no secret that what Lew is really after is a real estate development, not a winning baseball team. As the managing partner of the team, he has cheaped out time and time again. San Jose remains his destination of choice. Say it or not, the method has been that if the team was bad enough, folks would stay away. When attendance numbers dropped to the right spot, he could make the case that moving the team was the only option.

Unfortunately, this bunch of misfits has been playing some good solid baseball through the 2012 season. Good enough to defeat the Rangers on the very last day of the season and to win the Western Division title in the American League. You won’t find league leaders among the A’s. But you will see a bunch of guys who have done what it takes to win games when it counts.

If they manage to win tonight, it is on to the American League Championship Series. Best of seven games to decide who represents the AL in the World Series. Been a long time since the A’s got to that point. Fans who have stuck with the team over the years are more than ready to see it happen again in Oakland.

As Coco Crisp said after the Game 4 victory last night, “At some point, it’s got to be just good baseball,” Crisp said. “There’s no magic.”

He’s right. “Just good baseball” gets it done. That is what October baseball is all about.

I got word last Friday morning that the tour we were to take with the Two Rivers was cancelled.

I won’t go into all the details but safe to say we are staying home.

Disappointment comes into play here. No denial that this was something that I had been looking forward to for some time. Just being able to sit, relax and roll the miles by was something I was truly hoping to enjoy.

One can say that things like this happen for a reason. Invoke karma if you like.

Served to reinforce a few business points, if nothing else.

Still don’t have to like it. Ah, well… life goes on.

It’s been a while since I’ve been over to San Francisco for a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum. Being almost 50 miles from my door to the Museum, I can be forgiven. Somewhat…

But plenty going on that one shouldn’t overlook. For example, some truly fascinating special exhibits coming up.

And some really special programs to go along with them. Check them out here and here.

So, usually from Livermore, I drive the freeways from the East Bay, cross the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and make my way round the streets of the City, ending up at the Museum in the Presidio. Been coming to San Francisco for many years and I know my way around pretty well.

Most of my visits are on weekends. But public transit to the Museum? A weekday trip seemed more of a challenge.

To that end, I decided to try public transit and see for myself just how much fun or how much of a test it would be to go those 50 miles from home to the Museum and back again. With gas still over four bucks a gallon, it seemed worthy. My chariot (a 2002 Mercury Sable with about 175,000 miles on it) still manages about 25 miles per gallon. So on a good day, those 4 odd gallons of gas might cost me $20 or so. Throw in that bridge toll of $5 as well as a parking fee ( yes, it’s pretty much unavoidable, except on weekends) at the Presidio and it adds up.

Here’s the trip by transit:  Start with a three block walk to catch the #14 Wheels bus from home to the Livermore Transit Center. Here I transfer to another bus (I have my choice of three routes) to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station. From there, it is a 46-minute train ride to the Montgomery station. At Market Street and Montgomery, a transfer to the 38L bus of the San Francisco Municipal Railway. That takes me for a 17-minute ride to the corner of Geary Blvd and Presidio Avenue, where it is another transfer to the 43 bus for an 8-minute ride to the corner of Letterman Blvd and Lincoln Blvd at the Presidio. A nice 10-minute walk and I arrive at the Museum. From door to door, about 2 hours and 40  minutes with a cost of $9.65 one way.

The trip home to Livermore takes advantage of the free PresidGo shuttle from the Transit Center at the Presidio to the Embarcadero BART station. The secret to a free trip is to ride between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm weekdays. It doesn’t operate weekends or holidays. That takes the total time to roughly two hours (including walking) at a cost of only $6.65, using a transfer from BART to Wheels.

Planning your own transit trip to the Walt Disney Family Museum is easily done. On the web, give the 511 Transit Trip Planner a try. It is a multi-modal planner. You can plan a trip that includes driving, walking and public transit.

My trip above was on a weekday. Weekends and holidays may be a bit more of a challenge as usually, the PresidGo shuttle does not operate from downtown San Francisco to the Presidio. However, the SF Muni’s 43 line still makes the trip on both Saturday and Sunday. You just have the make the walk (less than 1/2 of a mile ) from Letterman Dr and Lincoln Blvd across the Presidio to the Museum.  Even in the fog, it is a nice walk.

So, you can visit the Museum using public transit. If you have not been yet, and are a Disney fan, you shouldn’t miss out. Take the plunge and plan your visit soon! You’ll be glad you did.