The fog In the bay area is thick this morning, and I hear the fog horns blasting from the bridge. Two days ago I got up early to shoot the bridge at sunrise (from Fort Baker). I then went to Battery Mendell in the evening to shoot the Point Bonita Lighthouse at (what turned out [...]

Van Cliburn was a huge inspiration to me when I was a young teenager. His recordings inspired me beyond belief. I couldn’t imagine being able to play the piano the way he did. As a result I would practice and practice, listen to the same recording over and over again (We only had the one: [...]

This past weekend was spent romping around the Headlands. Saturday we took an on-site class in the geology of Point Bonita followed by working at the lighthouse. Since the weather was gorgeous, we had over 500 visitors. On Sunday we went back and roamed to the edge of the coast. I shot several experimental pictures [...]

Social media? Get real. It’s really all marketing machinery! Facebook and Twitter try to keep it quiet, but a backlash against the heavy marketing (exploitation) of user information is annoying a critical mass of people. Remember, if you’re not paying for an online service, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold. Eli Pariser [...]

The tour guide gave us these. Cute!

Yes, I’m known as a geek, and I frequently get “geek gifts.” I wasn’t expecting this one at all. It really is interesting. I just now got to play with it. The small device connects through bluetooth to another bluetooth device (my phone in this case) and projects a keyboard with a laser. It also [...]

When I was in Moscow, I was terrified! I even blogged about it at the time. The Russians drive like flaming bats out of hell!! In Moscow they were driving on the sidewalks, on the shoulders of the roads (no matter the potholes the size of trucks), any where they could fit and as fast [...]

I’ve been seeing a lot of Tesla Model S’s on the road around Sausalito and Marin County. Sharp looking cars! As a huge proponent of EVs (electric vehicles), this, of course makes me very happy. Less oil. The less the better! I don’t know what the motivation was for John Broder’s, @NYTimes, review that appears [...]

A bistro? A trendy bar? Nope… a laundromat  in Barcelona called Splash, designed by Frederic Perers. Laundromats didn’t look like this when I had to use them! (Jeeze, that seems like a lifetime ago!)   Source: Laundromat Looks Just Like a Nightclub   Related articles Lounge-Like Laundromats – Wasbar Lets You Get a Haircut and a Drink [...]

Petro Vlahos died on February 10, 2013. His work, in many ways, defines modern visual effects in the film today. Among other things, Petro Vlahos is known for refining green (and blue) screen film technology for the Motion Picture Research Council by adding motion control cameras with traveling mattes. This stuff fascinates me. For those who [...]

Tip of the fedora to KB for introducing me to ThePianoGuys! I had heard of them before but had not explored their music until she pointed me their way back in December. I’ve enjoyed their music a great deal since. I’ve especially enjoyed their YouTube channel. In fact, today, while working out on the elliptical, [...]

She saved everything. No, I mean everything! After all, each treasure had wonderful memories associated with it! She had a box for wandering buttons to save them from the certain trash heap of unforgotten buttons who, for years, performed their duties without complaint.   Plastic. Cork. Leather. Wood. Metal. Fabric. Large. Small. Simple happiness. Aunt [...]

I’ve mentioned before that I really like the @KitCam and @PhotoForge2 iPhone apps. This first photo of the Golden Gate Bridge is another example of what they can do. The remainder of the photos were just shot with KitCam, my Instagram replacement choice. I really like these iOS apps! (Clicking any image opens a larger [...]

Being Stuck Today, for some odd reason, I woke up pondering “being stuck.” I don’t mean being physically stuck, but being stuck in a perspective of what life is. I read the Facebook posts of 95% of the people with whom I went to high school and am in wonder at how their perspectives are [...]

Today we went east, toward to bridge and away from the ocean. We walked over 15,000 steps, went up/down the equivalent of 22 flights of stairs, and encountered a “Closed Trail” sign that had a large notice: “People have fallen to their deaths from this trail. Keep Out!” We didn’t go that way! The Eagle [...]

Everyone who knows me knows of my complete disdain for advertising, but this commercial is special. I love the design sensibilities and size of the new Fiat 500s. Their marketing campaign is crafty to say the least. This commercial is very well done on several levels. It’s cleverly deceptive. The last thing Fiat wants you [...]

When the Sistoid Unit came to visit back in the summer, we explored part of the Land’s End area of San Francisco. I’ve tried to get Steve go to ever since, but one thing and then another. Well, today, first thing this morning, we went exploring. I used the time to scout for later photos [...]