This winter's El Nino will be the strongest on record, and get ready for the annual Thanksgiving Pie Run out at Hart Park

* ... PIE RUN: Thanksgiving is this week, and I can't decide what I enjoy more: the traditional dinner with friends or the annual Pie Run that kicks off the holiday at 6 a.m. at Hart Park. If you are new to town, this is a signature Bakersfield 'can't miss' event. All you need is the discipline to get up before dawn, drive to Hart Park and join a couple hundred other folks to either walk or run the course through Hart Park. Bring your dogs, some warm mittens, your running shoes and don't forget some breakfast food for the pot luck.
 John Rous, one of the founders of this annual event, reminds me that all of the leftover food goes to the homeless shelter. This is also the event that drew the wrath of the air pollution police a few years ago because - heaven forbid! - Rous had the chutzpah to light a small bonfire to warm the runners. (The air pollution control district later relented after Rous agreed to convert the bonfire into a barbecue pit, the only way a fire would be permitted.) That aside, the event goes on. "This is not just for runners," he said. "There are mothers pushing infants in strollers, walkers, bicyclists, all enjoying the morning." Make sure you arrive before Rous stands on a picnic table and kicks off the event precisely at 6 a.m.

 * ... EL NINO: This will be a wet week in Kern County, thanks to an El Nino that scientists say will definitely be the most powerful on record. The real question is what parts of California will get the rain, and how it will affect the drought? What we need is snow - not rain - in the Sierras so the reservoirs will will be gradually restored over time. And unfortunately, it looks like Central and Southern California will get more precipitation than Northern California. Still, this promises to be a wet winter, a bit colder, and that is something to welcome.

 * ... BABY NAMES: If you want a peak into how our world has changed, consider the top ten baby names popular in the decade of the 1970s. Here they are, in descending order: Kimberly, James, Michelle, David, Melissa, Jason, Amy, Christopher, Jennifer and Michael. Do you see yourself, or your children, on this list?

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Wouldn’t exercise be more fun if calories screamed while you burned them?"

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "I won’t come to your party unless you have an animal I can spend the whole time hanging out with."

 * ... MARE: Hats off to the good folks over at the MARE Riding Center which celebrated its 25th anniversary in October. Said Diane Hopkins: "Thanks to all our sponsors, donors, supporters, board members, volunteers and staff.  Everyone had such a good time and we are very thankful and proud that MARE has served the Bakersfield community for 25 years."

Bakersfield rolls out the red carpet for the Amgen Tour of California and remembering Suzanne Rivera, local cyclist who died on Mother's Day

 * ... AMGEN: Get ready for a day to remember Thursday when the Amgen Tour of California cycling race comes to town. Organizers are expecting as many as 30,000 people to view the race, which features some of the top pro cyclists in the world. The 18-mile time trial course starts on the bluffs across from Bakersfield College, follows Alfred Harrell Highway out to Hart Park and returns up the steep grade back to Panorama. It promises to be a spectacular event and if you have never witnessed a pro bike race, this is your chance to see some of the world's finest athletes in action. It's absolutely free, it starts at 1 p.m. and should by over shortly after 4 p.m. And, let's not forget to thank our city for agreeing to put water in the Kern River for the day to help put our community in its best light.

 * ... RIP SUZANNE: Friends and family are mourning the death of Suzanne Rivera, the 47-year-old mother of two who died in a nasty crash during a women's road cycling race near Mariposa. Like any sport cycling has its share of inflated egos and posturing, but Suzanne always had a smile on her face and never had a bad word for anyone. She crashed into a support van on a steep descent on Mother's Day, but she died doing something she loved. (Californian photo of Suzanne with coach Danny Kaukola)

* ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Among the many notable kids graduating from high school is Cristobal Trujillo, a Ridgeview graduate who is headed to Yale on a full-ride scholarship. Michelle Beck, one of his former teachers, told me Cristobal came to this country speaking no English but eventually mastered the language and qualified for the GATE program. That's an accomplishment that should make us all proud.

 * ... HOPPER: As if legacy media didn't have enough challenges, now comes the "Hopper" that threatens to to disrupt the television business model. The "Hopper" is a device offered by Dish Network that allows people to completely avoid commercials. Viewers can already fast forward through commercials, but the "Hopper" does it automatically and the viewer sees nothing but a momentary blank screen and no commercial. As the Wall Street Journal noted: "The notion that viewers won't see even a whirr of fast forwarded ads threatens billions of dollars in broadcast television advertising-and risks the ire of the networks."

 * ... BABY NAMES: The Social Security Administration has released the most popular baby names for 2011. According to USA Today, the top name for girls were Sophia, Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail, Madison, Mia and Chloe. For boys: Jacob, Mason, William, Jayden, Noah, Michael, Ethan, Alexander, Aiden and Daniel.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Donna Pacheco wonders if anyone else remembers Hart Park in the 1950s when it featured boat racing, the miniature train, a roller coaster and a merry-go-round. Donna worked at a food stand selling hot dogs and drinks.