Cave tours in Pinnacles National Park

Michael During the time "between the years," at the end of December 2021, we drove two hours south to the small town of San Juan Bautista and from there took day trips to Pinnacles National Park, which is an hour away from there.

At first, with mixed weather and even some rain, there was hardly anyone in the park, and for two days we went on tours without encountering many people. But on the last day, the weather forecast suddenly predicted sunshine, and it was as crowded as Munich's Stachus. Since we arrived only around noon, we weren't even allowed to park at the trail head. The offered shuttle, with lines of people waiting at the Visitor Center stop, was too crowded for us, so we trudged twice three kilometers from the parking lot to the trailhead and back. Not a walk in the park, and in the summer, I wouldn't even consider visiting this park, as you probably wouldn't be able to move an inch due to the influx of day tourists and hordes of climbers.

As the main attraction besides the amazing mountain panorama of Pinnacles National Park, two hiking trails lead through really deep, winding, and pitch-dark caves in the mountain. Some parts of these caves are equipped with steps and are easy to walk through, while other parts have been left in a more "primitive" state, as the head ranger at the Visitor Center put it. Even in the well-developed caves, hikers sometimes have to squeeze through narrow crevices or waddle deep in a crouch under rock overhangs. Definitely not for hikers who suffer from claustrophobia.

On the third day, we dared to take the circular route that led through the "primitive" Balcony Cave. Since it was raining, albeit not heavily but noticeably at times, some sections of the cave filled with water. We were faced with the decision to either return the same way or grit our teeth, march through knee-deep water with our hiking boots, and complete the circular route. We encountered a family who had carried their children through the flooded cave, so we knew that although we would get wet, we would make it to the other side alive. We decided to go for the cold bath.

We were quite shaken as we waded through several knee-deep flooded cave passages, and at times, with our waterlogged shoes, had to duck under low rocks, but we made it to the exit just fine. There, we briefly took off our shoes, wrung out our soaking wet socks, put everything back on with gritted teeth, and hiked the remaining five kilometers back to the car on the circular route. Memories of my time in the military came flooding back!

By the way, I had brought a rod lamp normally used for car repairs for the cave, and it was very useful because in the winding cave passages completely cut off from daylight, you can't see your hand in front of your face. A real adventure with a good outcome! However, as mentioned, only doable in really bad weather, because otherwise masses of day tourists turn the popular national park into a fairground.

The true American driver's license - "Real ID"

Angelika The USA, as is well known, does not have a registration law or a document like a EU grade identity card. Nevertheless, one still needs to identify oneself. This is usually done with a driver's license, which is not only needed for driving a car but also to prove that you are indeed who you claim to be. And for those of you who are particularly attentive readers and are now wondering: what do the poor people who never learned to drive, who surprisingly also exist in the USA, do about that? Here is the solution to the puzzle: There is the option to apply for a driver's license that only serves as an ID, but does not grant driving privileges.

In the United States, the issuance of driver's licenses falls under the jurisdiction of individual states. Until now, they had considerable freedom regarding the appearance of the document, and the requirements on which documents needed to be presented to obtain a driver's license. There were no uniform rules or security regulations that applied to all states. However, within the United States, a driver's license is sufficient, for example, to board a plane. So, when we flew to Hawaii every year before the pandemic, we only carried our regular California driver's license every time, and no passport as identification in our luggage.

This is about to change soon. Starting May 3, 2023, every air traveler will need a driver's license with standardized security features, the so-called "Real ID," to fly within the USA. "Real ID" roughly translates to "Real Identification Document." Of course, anyone with a valid passport can also board a flight. However, only 42% of Americans possess a passport, with the rest having never traveled outside of the country. Years ago, this number was even lower.

The name "Real ID" is derived from the corresponding law, namely the "Real ID Act," which was passed by the American Congress back in 2005. Yes, you read that correctly, the law is a whopping 17 years old, a truly complicated birth. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, in which some of the terrorists boarded the later hijacked planes with regular American driver's licenses that they should not have been able to obtain, the 9/11 Commission recommended tightening and standardizing the requirements for obtaining a driver's license in the various states. This led to the aforementioned law in 2005, which, however, received a lot of criticism from both conservative and liberal camps. Many argued that a national identification document was being introduced through the back door, which is an absolute red flag for many Americans. As a result, some states initially refused to implement the new requirements, and the introduction of the "Real ID" was repeatedly postponed: from 2008 to 2009, then from 2011 to 2013, and finally to October 2020.

Before the deadline in October 2020, the big race to obtain Real IDs had already begun many months earlier, at least here in California. This was because when applying for a "Real ID" for the first time, one must appear in person at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which led to a situation where there were no more appointments available and complete chaos ensued at one of the most unpopular agencies in America. Although the DMV now presents itself as modern, and many things can be done through the online portal, I often found myself pulling my hair out because it was extremely cumbersome to get the right form, which needed to be filled out online before the in-person appointment at the DMV to speed up the process. Allegedly, the applicant could also upload their documents, but neither Michael nor I managed to do so, and thus the DMV employee scanned the documents during our appointments. I must confess that I fervently hope hackers do not get the idea to steal data from the DMV, as I have somewhat lost confidence that digital security is ensured there. By the way, I received my first "Real ID" in December 2019. Michael got his a few months later, as the pandemic was gaining momentum. Corona was also the reason the deadline was postponed again, from October 2020 to now May 2023.

What uniform regulations now apply to obtain a "Real ID"? Everyone must first present an official document that confirms their legal name and date of birth, such as a birth certificate, a passport (American or issued by another country), or a naturalization certificate. Additionally, one needs an American Social Security Number, as well as two documents that contain the residential address plus the name (for example, utility bills, insurance contracts, rental agreements, bank statements). Furthermore, it is necessary to prove that one is legally residing in the country, which the applicant can demonstrate, for example, by presenting a Green Card. In California, Green Card holders and residents with work or student visas can obtain a "Real ID." However, the "Real ID" is only valid as long as the visa or Green Card is valid. A few states (e.g., Washington) only issue the "Real ID" to American citizens. In Washington, this is because it borders Canada, and the driver's license also serves as an ID for crossing the border into Canada, which entails even stricter regulations.

The "Real ID" can be recognized by the star in the upper right corner of the driver's license. In California, this star is part of the California bear that also adorns the California flag. By the way, you still do not need a "Real ID" to drive a car in California; the old standard version, which can still be applied for, is sufficient. However, starting in May 2023, you will no longer be able to use it to board a plane or enter buildings like courthouses. This standard driver's license does not have a star in the upper right corner; instead, it says "Federal Limits Apply" in California. Thus, immigrants without valid papers can still obtain a California driver's license as a driving permit, which has been allowed since 2013 by Governor Jerry Brown. The California "Real ID" also has features built in to prevent counterfeiting, in addition to the star and the bear.

All "Real IDs" must be machine-readable. On the Californian one, the date of birth is embossed on the photo, so the numbers are slightly raised. The same applies to the signature. When you illuminate the Californian "Real ID" with ultraviolet light, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Coit Tower, which is also located in San Francisco, appear. However, you cannot see these landmarks with the naked eye, which I find a bit unfortunate. Now we are curious to see if the deadline in May next year will finally be met.

Ukraine in America

Angelika Sometimes I think that the world has gone completely crazy. After we were able to catch our breath a bit regarding COVID-19, the war of aggression in Ukraine is once again plunging the world into fear and terror. There is often the prejudice that Americans are hardly affected by foreign events that are far away, but here too, the war in Ukraine is a constant topic of conversation. Of course, this is also because the USA is directly involved, taking in Ukrainian refugees, albeit in small numbers, and providing money and weapons.

Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin have already traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky. Last week, Nancy Pelosi, who holds the third-highest position in the country (after the President and Vice President) as Speaker of the House of Representatives, made her way to Ukraine. In our neighborhood, we see many Ukrainian flags fluttering in the wind and peace doves in the windows, which likely also reflect a sense of helplessness, as these symbols have little influence on the course of the war.

In school, we always try to discuss current news with our students. We often use videos from the website Flocabulary. The word is a portmanteau of "flow" and "vocabulary." It refers to an educational platform that uses hip-hop music and rhythm to teach vocabulary and other academic content. It brings current political events closer to students in an age-appropriate manner through hip-hop style. Every week, there is the so-called "Week in Rap" recap. The children in my class find these videos very appealing. I remember that during my school days, it always annoyed me terribly when current events were swept under the rug, and instead, we focused on the ancient Romans and Greeks. One of my students was immediately concerned about my family because, after watching the videos, she correctly noted that Ukraine is not that far from Germany.

Then, of course, there are various experts here who try to understand the situation in Ukraine. I particularly appreciate Masha Gessen, who writes for the New Yorker, grew up in Moscow, and emigrated to the USA with her family as a teenager. Gessen has written several books, including some about Putin. I can also highly recommend the journalist and historian Anne Applebaum, who writes for the magazine "Atlantic." One of her most well-known books is "Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine.

But in the past few weeks, a conversation has been running through my mind that I had over 20 years ago with a photography teacher in the darkroom of the UC Berkeley Extension. Putin had just been elected president, and I asked the teacher what he thought of it, as I knew he originally came from St. Petersburg. His face darkened, and he simply said that he couldn't understand how this criminal had been elevated to office. He told me that he and his family had been persecuted and threatened by the KGB at the time because, as a photographer, he had taken pictures of people on the streets of St. Petersburg. Many of his film negatives were destroyed. The photos weren't even very political, but rather snapshots of a city. How I would love to talk to him again now about the current situation.

Cat theft in broad daylight

Michael As mentioned in the last Rundbrief 12/2021, it is now normal here in San Francisco for petty crime to no longer be pursued by the police and the district attorney. Recently, thieves have been crawling under parked cars in broad daylight, using battery-powered saw to tools cut off the catalytic converter, and selling the part along with the precious metals it contains to shady scrap dealers. The photo in illustration 13 was taken by a resident who noticed the activity; however, despite an immediate emergency call, the police only arrived hours later, by which time the thieves were long gone. In such cases, the car owners affected have to pay several thousand dollars for a new catalytic converter, depending on the vehicle type, plus an equal amount to repair the damage caused to the exhaust system by the rough sawing. It costs an additional $400 if the owner hires a workshop to weld a specially designed steel cage around the catalytic converter to prevent another criminal from stealing the replaced converter using the same method a week later.

The thieves know that the police here in San Francisco have by now given up patrolling the streets, and should they happen to arrest wrongdoers by chance, our criminal-friendly district attorney Boudin won't press charges and, following his broken political ideology, immediately releases them, because no people were injured during the crime.

A new catalytic converter costs between $1,000 and $3,000 depending on the car brand, and including labor hours, a victim, or their insurance coverage, can quickly end up paying $4,000 to $5,000 for the repair. It is suspected that some workshops partially buy back the stolen catalytic converters through dubious channels and sell them to unsuspecting customers. The thieves only get a fraction of the original price for a stolen catalytic converter from shady scrap dealers. But earning a few hundred dollars with five minutes of work, without the risk of being held accountable for illegal activities, is incentive enough for an increasing number of criminals. That it would come to the point where things would be like in the post-apocalyptic film "Mad Max" here, no one would have dreamed of ten years ago. You never stop learning.

Corona Update

Angelika This week, our chief expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, announced that we in the USA have moved past the acute phase of the pandemic. Let's hope it stays that way. After the holidays in December, the Omicron variant hit us with full force in San Francisco and the surrounding area. At the school, this resulted in a very high rate of employee sick leave in January, and we maintained school operations with extremely limited staff. Although the quarantine period is now only 5 days if you test positive and are vaccinated, we were still at our wits' end.

We are a very small school and work with challenging children. Even when one staff member is absent, we feel it significantly. I also felt as if I had a test swab permanently in my nose because I was always in close contact with positive individuals. Miraculously, I did not get infected. I have no idea why. Maybe my strict adherence to wearing an FFP2 mask helped. The Omicron wave has now subsided, but as is the case with waves, the next one will surely come soon, especially since the mask mandate has been lifted in San Francisco and at our school. We only have to wear masks in a few exceptions, namely in doctor's offices, hospitals, nursing homes, homeless shelters, and prisons.

Of course, everyone can still voluntarily wear a mask, and here in San Francisco, you see only a few people without a mask in stores. I also still wear a mask most of the time at school, even though almost none of the students and staff do anymore. Until recently, we were also required to wear a mask on public transportation. Now the situation is a bit more complicated, after a federal judge in Florida lifted the national mask mandate for transportation, such as buses, subways, and airplanes in the USA about two weeks ago. Now, individual municipalities or transportation companies themselves determine what applies to their transportation system. In San Francisco, this has led to the absurdity that masks are mandatory on BART (the subway in San Francisco), but not on buses and streetcars, because Muni, a different transportation company, is responsible for those.

In the meantime, many tech companies in Silicon Valley have also ordered their employees back to the office from home, which is noticeably reflected in the increasing traffic. Michael, too, had to return to the office after more than two years. However, this is happening gradually for him. Initially, he had to work one day at the company's offices in mid-April. By now, he has reached two days, and in the next phase, this will increase to three days. Since most employees enjoy working from home, it will still be allowed for two days a week. Naturally, Michael grumbled a bit when he had to go back, because for him, working from home is the ultimate, and he could have continued like that indefinitely.

Top Product: Ooni Pizza Oven

Michael As you may remember, in the last newsletter I talked about special utensils for making top-quality pizza at home, and I casually mentioned the gas-powered mini oven from Ooni. And just like that, Angelika gave me one of these gadgets for Christmas. It was supposed to be a surprise. However, Angelika didn't consider that the neighbors in our apartment building are now as vigilant as hawks to ensure delivered packages aren't immediately stolen. As soon as the delivery service placed the huge box in the lobby downstairs, it took less than five minutes for our neighbor to send me a text message: "Hey, a pizza oven for Angelika was just delivered downstairs!" I was still happy.

After Christmas, I immediately connected the device to the propane tank of our grill on the balcony, turned it on full blast for half an hour until the infrared thermometer from my tool collection showed 750F (400 degrees Celsius). I then swiflty slid in a hand-shaped, ultra-thin pizza topped with mozzarella, Don Peppino tomato sauce, onions, and anchovies. It was quite a challenge to fit it through the narrow opening and have it land in one piece on the ceramic plate inside the oven, using a large spatula. After 30 seconds, you need to move the pizza out a bit with the spatula, quickly turn it, and put it back in for another 30 seconds, then it's done. It tasted great! Only the high temperature of the pizza oven creates that typical pizzeria flavor, which is completely different from a pizza baked in a home oven. You just have to be careful that the dough doesn't burn at these high temperatures or the oven sets the house on fire, but by now I've gathered enough experience handling a sticky, thin layer of dough in dangerous devices under extreme temperatures. Top product!

Sliding with a potato sack

Michael In San Francisco, a well-kept secret is a staircase in the hilly neighborhood of Bernal Heights called the "Esmeralda Stairs," which is surely a hundred meters long and has a slide built between two landings. No kidding, the slide is ten meters long and is constructed so sturdily from steel that, after a thorough inspection, I concluded that it can not only withstand the boisterous children it was built for but also adults of my size. Now, granted, I have never seen anyone older than 10 years sliding there, but that doesn't mean anything.

In my first few attempts at sliding, however, it turned out that the steel slide, despite its polished surface, created too much friction with the cotton fabric of my pants. Instead of accelerating into a rapid descent, I immediately came to a halt and even had to push myself to avoid getting stuck. Back home, I remembered that as children in Augsburg's Ziegelstadel amusement park, we always zoomed down the giant slide on potato sacks. But since nowadays, as an urban resident of an American city, one no longer has potato sacks on hand, I quickly ordered a four-pack of so-called "burlap sacks," as they are called in proper English, on eBay.

After the package with the order finally arrived, we set out for Bernal Heights on a Sunday morning, made sure there were no children nearby, and then proceeded with the death-defying execution of the experiment. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure how strongly the frictionless acceleration would catapult me downward, so I kept my jacket on as a precaution to prevent abrasions. Additionally, I am known to have cat-like reflexes due to my many years of martial arts experience! However, Angelika feared that I would end up in the emergency room, but after some persuasion, she agreed to go film the whole thing. And, behold, I went swiftly downwards, just fast enough! Angelika also dared to take the ride afterwards, and both newsletter reporters survived the experiment without injuries!

Finally understandable: Democratic, liberal, and progressive

Michael When it comes to political ideologies, Americans use terms that often mean the exact opposite of what their literal translation into German would imply, and that's why today I'm going to shed some light on this. First, the two-party system: you are either a "Democrat" or a "Republican." There is no "Green," "Liberal," "Leftist," or AfD member; 99% of all ideologies find their home in one of these two groups.

The translation into "Democrats" and "Republicans" is problematic in itself because both parties are democratic, and comparing "Republicans" with the former German right-wing party "Die Republikaner," which became popular in Germany in the 1980s, is not accurate. But let's leave it at that for now. Additionally, there are, of course, nuances within these two unified parties. For example, the current President, Biden, is more center-right among the Democrats, while socialist Sanders is far left. This leads to Biden being constantly criticized by young radicals within his own party for not being radical enough. Among Republicans, John McCain was once one of the moderates, and former President Trump was far right. Since Obama (a Democratic president) and especially since Trump (a Republican president), it has become difficult to find moderate Republicans, as the party has become highly radicalized. This mutual radicalization of both parties has resulted in virtually no cooperation between Democrats and Republicans nowadays. When one side proposes something, the other side reflexively torpedoes it.

An American "Democrat" is politically roughly aligned with a member of Germany's SPD (Social Democratic Party): They support labor unions, want to heavily tax the rich, assist low-income earners with state funds, enforce a firearm ban, and generally believe that the state should take matters into its own hands and steer it through detailed legislation. "Democrats" are not tired of claiming that all "Republicans" are backward idiots and hillbillies (almost all states in the middle of the USA, i.e., away from the coastal regions, are in Republican hands) and want the Electoral College (the complicated American electoral system, in which states appoint electors, giving smaller states more influence than purely by voter numbers) to be abolished. This would guarantee Democratic presidents for decades.

A "Republican," on the other hand, is positioned somewhat to the right of Germany's CDU (Christian Democratic Union), economically close to the FDP (Free Democratic Party), meaning they are employer-friendly. They prefer to levy as few taxes as possible, as the state should operate a lean apparatus that only intervenes in the free market in exceptional cases. Firearms remain permitted, as intended by the Constitution. Republicans point fingers at mega-cities in the USA, such as New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles, all of which are in Democratic hands and struggle with high crime rates, unemployment, and general societal decay. Since Democratic voters outnumber Republicans at the federal level, due to the the densely populated coastal states are almost all being governed by Democrats, Republicans prefer the complicated electoral system to remain.

Now, let's talk about "liberal." In Germany, when someone says "liberal," they automatically mean the FDP (Free Democratic Party), because that's the liberal party, in the sense of "individual freedom" and "let the economy do its thing." In America, it means pretty much the opposite; a "liberal" is a person who doesn't interfere when other people do questionable things. For example, if someone reports on an online portal that their house was broken into and their laptop was stolen, there's always a "liberal" who feels sympathy for the poor burglar who apparently can't afford their own laptop. I know "liberals" who are so extreme that they specialize in finding excuses and never tire of explaining why it's okay for lawbreakers to break the law. They get very creative with it and raise their children to be unruly individuals without setting any boundaries. This certainly doesn't apply to all, but the tendency is there.

A "Progressive" is essentially a special case of a "Liberal," as the "Progressive" wants to radically change things, operating under the mantra that the state and police have done everything wrong so far and that it's time for a new approach. This generally means that the state should no longer engage in policing or punishing criminals, as such actions only lead to discord, anger, and unpleasant situations. The Progressive does not see that the absence of state pressure on wrongdoers could potentially lead to more crime. The idea that distributing money indiscriminately diminishes people's motivation to take care of themselves is unknown to them. They are indifferent to the fact that their extreme political programs alienate ordinary voters, who ultimately foot the bill with their taxes. According to the "Progressives," the pronounced social differences in America are the root of all evil.

Ironically, "progressives" in San Francisco have often become wealthy citizens due to the real estate bubble, having risen from being hippies. This brings me to the term "Champagne Socialist." This is someone who (seemingly) advocates for the common man and the public school system, but sends their own children to private schools because they want them to get a good education. Our governor, Gavin Newsom, is one such person, and in the hippie neighborhood of Bernal Heights, practically all the residents are like that. Well, now you know, in case you come across this term again!

Greetings from San Francisco:

Angelika and Michael