Yesterday afternoon I flew to Los Angeles. Earlier this month, such a flight would have carried me from very cold weather to warmer weather. Yesterday, though, the temperature difference was less than ten degrees Fahrenheit. On the flight out I continued to read Andy Weir's "The Martian". I had been reading it 10 or 15 pages at a time. I like flights and business travel as they cause me to read things in 100 page increments rather than 10 page increments. I finished the novel last night at my hotel. It was a really good read. I like my science fiction with science rather than sorcery, and characters rather than polemics.
We landed yesterday in the late afternoon. I stopped by Griffith Park on my way to the hotel. I went to the area near the ranger station, on Crystal Springs Road. I walked and watched birds. I did not see anything rare or unusual for the area, but some of the birds, such as acorn woodpeckers and black phoebes, are not common to my home area. Here is a Black Phoebe, a different species than the Eastern Phoebes we have in north Texas:

The afternoon seemed to end a bit earlier than in Texas. I made my way to my hotel,and then walked to get a sandwich. I fell asleep extremely early,but then woke up a few times during the night and read.
This morning I puzzled over my laptop a bit. The battery life indicator was not showing up. I did all sorts of widget-formatting and command-line judo. Then I tried a radical step. I unplugged the battery and plugged it in more securely. This solved the issue, which turned out to be that the battery had gone slightly out of alignment. So many problems which seem so complex turn out to be simple.
My business got me up early this morning. The day was foggy but warm. My business lasted most of the morning. Then I headed toward the airport. I had an extra hour and a half before my flight.
I went to Chace Park in Marina del Rey. This little park by the boat channel has just a few trees,but it is a good place to see lots of little songbirds and sparrows.
Here is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. I believe this is the Audubon sub-species, while in Texas we have the Myrtle.

Here is a White-Crowned Sparrow:

I stopped for lunch in Thai Dishes in Westchester, a little place at which my wife and I used to eat some 24 years ago. I enjoyed my chicken with broccoli.
My flight left promptly in the late afternoon.On the flight home, I listened to
Matt Chilton & Anthony Donovan experimental music album "Live in Gdansk". Then I listened to Entertainment for the Braindead's "Songs from the Dust", a solid girl-and-guitar-and-found-sounds effort. When my computer battery began to wind down, I switched to the airline classical music feed. A pianist whose name I did not catch played Mompou, after which Hillary Hahn played a Bach solo violin piece.
We landed early. I listened on my drive home to Shaun Blezard's electronica effort "Some Solo Unicorn" and to Entertainment for the Braindead's lo-fi acoustic "Berlin Kitchen Sessions". I stopped by Dickey's BBQ for some turkey and then headed home.
Now we are watching talking heads recapitulate the State of the Union address, and relaxing.