From the Maker(s) of My Name is IRL: Jeff Iannucci blends his slightly sarcastic wit and his love of all things IndyCar in the audio realm with his new podcast, I am Mindy (a play on the league theme song “I am Indy”). On his first show, he chats with fellow blogger Bill Zahren (you know, Pressdog!) about Penske Racing’s Helio dilemma and the ethanol debacle, plus gives us a news roundup with a Danica report from the crack on-the-scene reporter, P1. Follow the I am Mindy link above to check it out. Jeff has a Kevin Lee air about him – that’s a good thing.

Sabrina: She’s been eating a lot better in the last 2-3 days and has been a little more active. In the short term, that’s good news.

Work: Chasing last minute updates before the site sees it’s highest traffic of the year on Friday and Monday. Have really done nothing else today but try to get one change approved and implemented. I have to get approvals from very busy VPs who are in meetings all day, so forward progress is slow.

Turkey Day: Gonna roast me a bird, make some dressing and some pumpkin custard (pie without the crust) and have a nice quiet day with the puds, and my friend Rani might come by for a bit. Need a nice, restful day. Lots of stress in all parts of life right now.

On Watch: Have spent the last three days keeping an eye on Sabrina and trying to get her to eat. She’s very still most of the time and occasionally a little wobbly when she walks. It’s breaking my heart to see her decline like this…

Decade: Ten years in NASCAR’s top tier series with the same team and the same crew chief is an accompishment in itself, but add in 33 victories and two championships and you have something special. Something special came to an end when the checkered flag fell on the final race of 2008 today and Tony Stewart turned his final lap for Joe Gibbs Racing. He didn’t manage to win one (more) for the Gibber, but they had a strong showing, leading for a few laps in the final stages of the race before having to come in for a splash of fuel. Stewart starts a new phase of his career next season as driver-owner of Stewart Haas Racing, knowing he’ll have to build his team considerably to regain the level of success he achieved at Gibbs. Hard not to admire him for taking the risk, and here’s hoping he’s a success in his new venture. I’m betting he will be.

New Favorite: Although I’ve lived here since 1997, I’ve never visited the San Francisco neighborhood of Telegraph Hill (other than a trip up to Coit Tower) until this weekend. The reason: bad knees. Most of the “streets” on Telegraph Hill are steep staircases, stone paths and boardwalks, cutting through lush gardens that grow down the steep slope, framing adorable cottages and apartment buildings. The trees and bushes host the city’s famous Wild Parrots, a flock of conures that has grown to near 200 over the years, and has been featured in a book and PBS program.

I took MUNI 39 up to Coit Tower, took the Filbert steps to Montgomery Street, and walked down the Greenwich steps to the last flight. There’s a home for sale there that I’d love to own (see it here), so I took a couple photos before heading back up the steps to Montgomery street. I cut over and did the rest of the Filbert steps, visiting Darrell Place and the authentic boardwalk of Napier Lane on the way down. I took loads of photos – steps, homes and a lot of the parrots, who were always perched in green and red foliage that camouflaged them perfectly…

Chillin’: Taking the day off to do whatever or nothing at all today. Lounging with a stack of magazines, a box of truffles, two kitties and a few warm blankets sounds like the right way to spend my afternoon…dinners and lunches with friends are planned for later in the week.

Trackside: Jeff Iannucci from My Name is IRL, Bill “pressdog” Zahren and other IndyCar/racing bloggers were featured on Thursday’s Trackside with Cavin and Kevin. Great to hear these guys get their moments to shine – blogs are a great vehicle for growing and engaging any fan base. Follow the link above to the show’s site to hear the Nov 6th episode.

Diwali 2008: The Indian community at work always holds a Diwali celebration with Indian song, dance and food. The ladies dress in colorful and gorgeous salwar kameez and the men in tunics, there is mendhi (henna tattoo designs), laughter and stories to share. The food is fabulous and the mood festive and Diwali is becoming one of my favorite holidays because of the great vibe of this gathering. Of course, I took photos…

Prop H8 Protest: San Franciscans took to the streets this evening to protest California’s vote on Prop 8 ( or Prop h8, as we call it). The passing of 8 bans same sex marriage – I can’t believe this state has actually voted to write discrimination into the constitution. Of late, the city was crawling with Elders bussed in from Utah, Mormons working to get 8 passed. I believe in complete separation of church and state, and abhor that another state and even the Catholic church on the national level spent so much money to meddle in our politics. We’ll turn this thing over somehow…here’s another place to chant “Yes We Can”…oh, and there are photos, of course.

Amazed. Proud my country has made an historic choice that will restore hope around the world that America will change course and try something new, something that works. There’s an extraordinary mess to clean up, but it seems we’ve chosen an extraordinary man to lead us in doing it. I see good things coming, down the road…

Race: It was a bit of a snoozer, with a few highlights (“Panica!”) to amuse. Still, I hate that the season is over.

Cats: Sebastian has recovered well from his dental surgery and is back to his big ol’ snuggly food-beggin’ self. Sabrina is steady – eating normally, playing a little, sleeping a lot, no blood clots or strange behavior. I got information today on the procedure and costs for saying goodbye, cremation, etc. Broke my heart, but I need to be ready for it.

Life: Things are calming down a little – lots of stress over the last month and it’s been a tough year all around. Since my hospital stay, I’ve slowly decompressed and have been able to relax and sleep better. I’ve also lost 8 pounds while following the advice of the cardiologist I saw. Still having issues accepting Sabrina’s ultimate fate – tears well up very easily – but I’ll do my best with that. It’s a tough one.

Work: Short-term hiring freeze means no more writers for us this year or early 2009 – to take up the slack, my direct reports will now report to my boss as well, which frees me up for more project work. It didn’t make sense to have two managers and two non-managers if the team isn’t growing for a while. It’s disappointing, but I will find other ways to challenge myself and may resume managing once the team is large enough to need two managers.

Politics: I cannot wait for Tuesday. I’m hoping for a massive change of direction for the whole country – we’ve been doing it one way for too long and the pendulum needs to swing the other way to see if balance can be found.

NaNoWriMo: To write or not to write – that is the question. The annual exercise of cranking out a 50,000 word novel in one month’s time has begun, and I’m sitting on the fence. I guess I can start, and drop out if I want. Better than deciding half-way through that I want to do it. It’s 1667 words a day…still not sure what I want to write about.

Yum: A coworker brought us cocoa puffs from the Liliha Bakery on Oahu – puff pastry filled with chocolate pudding, topped with chantilly frosting. Incredible. Too bad it’s a 5 hour flight to get more…

Charming: While riding a cable car the other day, an adorably-attractive elderly couple were singing (beautifully) “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” as I stood in front of them. After they finished, I thanked them for starting my day with such a lovely moment. I love this city…