it's all good

destination Pescadero

2012-03-04T08:21:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's weather was sublime yet again and left everyone wondering if we're really still in the throes of winter. Crystal clear, warm and sunny ~ a perfect day to ride the motorcycle south to the town of Pescadero via Skyline Blvd. and then slowly down to Davenport and up Highway One to home ~ taking most of the day. Here are some of the things I saw along the way...

For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.

2012-02-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today was yet another unseasonably nice day in which I ventured up to Glen Ellen to visit one of my favorite places, Jack London Historic Park because rumor has it that budget problems will force this park to close in July of this year.

The title of this post is a nod to Lewis Carroll and his source of inspiration with The Hunting of the Snark referenced by Jack London.

The only true adventure

2012-02-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of my nephew Teddy, age 7 ~ he was in a bit of a mood when this was taken but it is a suitable expression for the following story. Last year his sister Annabel brought home the note seen below and handed it to her mother (my sister Rae). Teddy had received it while at school and promptly discarded it, not to be bothered with such "fool" things. Ah love...

"We love because it's the only true adventure." - Nikki Giovanni

Heart "attack" happening now

2012-02-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Could there be any more hearts out there right now? I went for a ride this weekend and was astonished at the volume of hearts on display in various shops and windows... I reflected on this "heart attack" with a special fondness for a holiday that forces the sponge heart and yes I could feel the love.

Inspiration and where you find it ...

2012-01-31T22:55:00.000-08:00

This evening in Berkeley I encountered Gregory Goode and Carla King in the same room. That's when I knew I was at the right event. Not only did I just finish Carla's book American Borders about her circumnavigation of the US on an interesting Ural sidecar motorcycle but I had met Gregory about a year ago so I had previously heard some of his story about his three year 100K sojourn around the globe on his BMW motorcycle. A highlight was introducing them to one another and then posing with them in this photo ~

Rainy Sunday with a Bubble King

2012-01-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Today at noon in Sausalito I encountered Ray Doubleday {aka The King of Wands} with his oversized bubble maker ~ it was raining pretty hard but worth standing there and watching the mesmerizing creation of these huge bubbles.

Canadians on fire

2012-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about this band Arcade Fire and their interactive music video Sprawl II featuring some interesting visuals.

Then a reader sent me a link to an even more compelling video ~ the Wilderness Downtown in which you interact by typing an address of a home you grew up in and google technology adds to the interest of the video ~ pure genius.

Also below is a "teaser video" that I found for Sprawl II which amused me shot in Haiti.

Starting the New Year at a Beach ~ of course

2012-01-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

I realized last week that I've never lived further than a mile away from any ocean (Pacific or Atlantic)... all of my life. Therefore I derive such comfort from the feeling of sand and the sound of waves ~ it's such a calming experience and what better way to start a year. Photo below taken this afternoon around 1pm at Rodeo Beach in Fort Cronkhite, Marin Headlands.

This post this morning caught my eye with this gorgeous photo by Judith and Richard as they combed their beloved Kehoe Beach today ~

when a fish isn't a fish ~

2011-12-31T08:14:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine suggested a movie ~ CATFISH so last night I watched it ~

It left me with many thoughts to ponder but all good ones... it's hard to produce unique and creative content for movies that haven't already been done but this movie certainly does that, it's worth seeing.

Zombies ~ it must be true ~ they're all the rage now

2011-12-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

A few months ago someone mentioned to me that zombies were the latest thing. Then a week ago I watched this video called Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (and supposedly those are zombies). I got hooked, loved the lyrics and the unusual imagery is elegant and engaging. Leave it to those Canadians, thank you Arcade Fire.

Santa ~ It's almost that time

2011-12-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

It's close to that time of year where this notorious man in a red suit is supposed to be around bearing gifts for children. I'm still in search of him and my Santa Blog documents this pursuit. Although the photo at bottom of me with "Santa" was promising from last week ~ that particular Santa turned out to be a fake, his beard came off and he was too nervous (as you can see in the photo) ... I knew he wasn't the real deal. In fact, I almost wanted to submit him to the Sketchy Santas blog I found recently.

Artumnal definitely stimulates all five senses

2011-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Black Rock Arts Fifth Annual Artumnal Gathering at the beautiful Bently Reserve building in downtown San Francisco. The whole evening felt like a circus got loose in the building but in a good way in which I was able to be a participant. Visually there was never a dull moment ~the music and constant "aromatherapy" really enhanced the evening. The overall feeling was one of benevolence, innovation and creativity with awe inspiring performances into the wee hours of the morning. My limited attempts to capture the experience on my iPhone are seen below:

Owling, Planking, Batmanning, Teapotting... of course, why not?

2011-11-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I was being entertained by some of my friend's Facebook posts and I saw this picture below of a friend with her caption "owling at work". That got me to do some google searching and discovering this whole fad I didn't know existed.

I explained this phenomenon to my friend John just before he left on vacation to Singapore and Bali ~ he agreed to provide me with some unusual planking and owling photos of which these two are pretty good in Singapore:

But I think watching this video below demonstrates batmanning the best... those nutty college kids!

Halloween ~ might be my favorite holiday after all

2011-11-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween has officially become my favorite holiday. And because of this ~ I dressed up twice this year -- once for a party on Saturday night (a futuristic Valkyrie) and then once for the Halloween Day in the office (a pirate). Gumby came to the office to visit ~ what a surprise.

Poetry to go ~ in Sausalito

2011-10-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I was delighted to make the acquaintance of Tara who was visiting my hometown. She perched herself just down the street from my house with a sign and a typewriter, ready for whatever unfolded. I was intrigued and delighted with my encounter...and of course I needed to request one of her creations.

For a pittance, she typed out this poem while I waited:

Then of course I had to look up her website to see more ~ what a fantastic idea.

Habitats and Angels on a Saturday

2011-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today I ventured over to the city's Presidio to see the Habitat Exhibition since it's closing at the end of next weekend and I've been meaning to get there for awhile. It was quite a full day to be seeing these gorgeous outdoor habitat exhibits and at one point a sonic boom rattled the entire area. Then I had to get through the masses to home but there was a lot of interesting things to see.

photos from today are here

The final 1K push ~ to home

2011-10-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

A week overdue here in posting my final leg of the trip ~

On September 19 I left Gardiner, WA for home ... four more nights out as I covered the 1000 miles down the coast.

These photos are not numerous but they attempt to capture the beauty I was experiencing. I arrived home safe and sound about noon the 23rd of Sept but not without a harrowing 48 hours (thus not many photos). I'll save that story for another post someday.

Elwha Dam Removal and salmon spawning

2011-09-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today was very educational for me about salmon migration and the big local (and national) news of the Elwha River Restoration Project. Yesterday was the official ceremony announcing the kickoff of the dam removal project, apparently the largest dam removal in history. I went with my cousin Dan and his wife Marylou to see the community outreach kiosks at several various locations on the Elwha River.

1927 historical photo of the Glines Dam being built

Chinook salmon carcasses after spawning

we stood on this old railroad trestle to watch some of the spawning activity

back in Washington ~ rain tomorrow

2011-09-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

I must be in the Olympic Peninsula as the weatherman says rain tomorrow.

Pictures from my past week can be viewed by clicking here...

Leaving Monday to head along the coast to home.

Update from Bellingham, Washington

2011-09-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

It's a serene Sunday morning in Bellingham and while doing a much needed load of laundry, I'm gathering the photos so far on this trip. All has been smooth, but the average temperature has exceeded what I expected when I planned this originally. Thank goodness the forecast for the remaining two weeks and where I'm going is much cooler. Tomorrow I will board a ferry to Vancouver Island and spend four days in Canada exploring some new places.

click here if you'd like to see photos from my week

tomorrow ~ north to another country

2011-09-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'll ride out for three weeks on a trip very similar to two previous motorcycle rides ~ Vancouver Island in Canada. In 2009 when I last did this, friend Gwen sent me a hand written quote from Sir Richard Burton that has been on my refrigerator inspiring me to this "next" trip. Reading about Sir Richard is an inspiration to say the least -- his code of conduct and beliefs.

Of the gladdest moments, methinks, in human life, is the departing upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares, and the slavery of Civilization, Man feels once more happy. The blood flows with the fast circulation of youth, excitement gives a new vigor to the muscles, and a sense of sudden freedom adds an inch to the stature. Afresh dawns the morn of life, again the bright world is beautiful to the eye, and the glorious face of Nature gladdens the soul. A journey, in fact, appeals to Imagination, to Memory, to Hope—the sister Graces of our moral being.
Sir Richard Francis Burton, Zanzibar 1856

Pictured above is "Agapito" ~ my virtual navigator from a set of 1974 Fisher Price "Adventure People" ~ he'll be zip tied somewhere on my motorcycle.

take a load off in this lovely wingback chair

2011-08-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

Wingback chairs have never been my favorite and I'm not sure if it's because of my mother's excessive love of 18th century furniture or that the purported historical reason "for the wings were assumed to be to prevent drafts in old houses from reaching the upper body or to protect the delicate skin of gentrified ladies from the heat of a roaring fireplace". Really?

So it was with whimsy that of all the types of furniture I should see today on my bicycle ride home in a most incongruous place to the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge ~ this discarded wingback chair below. My very active imagination envisioned a virtual Victorian delicate lady of refinement right next to it.

coulrophobia be gone thanks to a clown from Wales

2011-08-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

I admit to experiencing a wee bit of coulrophobia that I might have contracted from my sister Rae (I'd like to blame her for it anyway). Today I just faced my fear head-on when I went right up to the famed "Sausalito clown" of recent, Linzy Young who capped off my day perfectly. I boarded the 7:55pm ferry home after a long day at the office and Linzy sang songs and tied balloons for the 30 minute ride. Turns out he's been doing this all over the world for over ten years. For the past several weeks I've seen the results of his work as people are toting around gorgeous balloon art. He's quite a character and somehow I agreed I might take a stab at helping him write his story (which I'm sure is interesting).

my friend Mike below happened to be part of the fun, he voted it "one of his top five ferry rides ever"

the speed at which Linzy could tie these is amazing.

Grown men shouting ... advice was given.

2011-08-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today in the space of one hour while relaxing at a park in my hometown, I managed to hear two different men shouting verbal threats at the top of their lungs. Both incidences involved bicycles and people riding them at high speed.

Then tonight I came across this posting in below in the local Marinscope newspaper under the "Police Report" section ~

Monday July 25
Advice to Citizen: Second Street. A resident notified police after her small dog was nearly run over by a cyclist riding past her home. Advice was given.

The next time the world seems confusing/frustrating or just plain frightening, I'm going to look for "advice to be given". Classic.

When golf gets interesting...

2011-07-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

The sport of golf never looked very interesting to me (personally) and to be honest, it looked too difficult. Today I participated in a golf tournament representing my company as a "hole sponsor". There are only so many drives one can watch before wanting to add a little fun to the day. Therefore by the arrival of the fifth group of players, I simply asked the golfers to do something "unusual" at the tee box. This never took much coaxing. Bravo to these individuals for their enthusiasm and creativity.

It always made me chuckle to myself when golfers would "park" their cigar on the ground near the tee.

This fellow had such a good shot that he jumped out of his shoes.

One way to be done with it ...

2011-07-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've had people remark that I have an unusual amount of weird things happen around me. Last night was no exception as I went to the beach for a typical Saturday night bonfire with my friends. During the picnic around our campfire, we happened to look to the south of the beach and see a striking image. A woman dressed all in black with beautiful raven hair was walking around a white dress hanging on a makeshift cross. She had two friends with her, one who was documenting the "event" with a camera. We sensed we were about to behold a ceremony related to scorned love and so went to over to see what it was about. Sure enough, raven-haired lady was purging the grief from a "man who almost ruined my life" and doing some incantations followed by an interesting burn of the dress. The remarkable part was the transfixed onlookers saying nary a word, most of who seemed to be young pre-teen girls. The 20-something men to my right, being of Latin origin were thoroughly confused and asked me questions as if I had been the spokesperson for the evening. All they had to say was "but she's so beautiful, she could have any man she wants".

Beached Baby ~ what next?

2011-07-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Oh Baby what next?
Yesterday morning friend Katherin spotted Big Baby going down the road on a trailer behind a truck here in town. Today during lunch at Paradise Bay, we lamented the view of the bay without B.B. on the boat to enhance the skyline. Our server at the restaurant enthusiastically exclaimed "my friend says Big Baby is going to go on top of the Seahorse soon." That gave us the clue to do our own investigation this afternoon. Lo and behold, we found B.B. in the parking lot of Sausalito Seahorse lying on a padded trailer. Below is the photo taken with my head next to the piece to show scale.

Baby went for a swim

2011-07-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday I was looking out to the spot in the bay where "baby" was supposed to be and it was gone. I remarked to my friend Ike that I guess all things must come to an end. He sent me this fantastic link to a news story on the recent developments of baby. Too funny.

Giant Baby on a Boat ~ of course

2011-06-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

For the past several months, I have been intrigued by a large baby doll sculpture lying supine in a boat in Richardson Bay. This is easy to see if you're enjoying a beverage at Bar Bocce in Sausalito. I'm trying to find out more about it (the artist, the intention) but I so appreciate the whimsy of the art in this town.

Caution: do not swim with your iPhone

2011-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a distressing dream in that I went swimming and forgot that I had my iPhone with me. In my dream I literally resuscitated my poor digital device, somehow opening it (in two pieces) and blowing water out of the insides and hoping it still worked. I think this means I love my iPhone "too much".

There's a little rip there

2011-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

I love the part where he says "there's a little rip there" ~ a classic understatement. This happened yesterday here in San Francisco, wow.

I'm certain they speak Ekrean in the nethersphere

2011-05-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

The theme of my week is "outer space". It started last Thursday when I was riding my bicycle over the Golden Gate Bridge and on the North Side I encountered this alien pictured below with his human tour guide. I stopped to have a direct inquiry and it was interesting.

Then today I overheard Joseph in our office say "she is out in the nethersphere" and no he wasn't referring to me. Apparently nethersphere as defined in urbandictionary.com is:

All dimensions beyond our usual experience, to include the far reaches of outer space and inner spiritual dimensions; "the great beyond"; 2) everywhere other than here.

I'm sure anyone in the nethersphere is speaking Ekrean just because they can.

Stanley concludes his adventures

2011-05-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Flat Stanley concluded his week of visiting me in San Francisco and is soon to go home with this book so that nephew Teddy can share him with the class. (Book assembled at blurb.com if you're interested, a great website).

Flat Stanley in San Francisco by in order to chronicle stories for Teddy Roth | Make Your Own Book

Stanley Lambchop comes to visit ~ cartwheeling in the wind

2011-05-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've been aware of this Flat Stanley phenomenon for awhile now and have always enjoyed the idea. I'm now the enthusiastic recipient of my nephew Teddy's Flat Stanley. This weekend I brought him out for an initial round of adventures. I almost lost him today in the high winds of Tomales Bay and had to run after him as he cartwheeled into a bush on a 40 knot gust around sunset right after picture two below was taken. Thank goodness he is dressed in his duo-tone camouflage outfit. Stay tuned for more later...

Another turn around the sun today

2011-04-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

El hoy es mi cumpleaños -- otros vuelven el sol.

Things I did today that are pleasurable to my senses:

riding on Chester-the-wonder horse with Rachel riding Kasanova and Grin (the dog) entertaining us with mouse-hunting in the barn and the associative smells, sounds, sights and feelings of doing this are just like the excitement of when I was six years old
riding the "new" R1200GS motorcycle up to Pt. Reyes Station
eating Oyster Stew at the Station House Cafe with Lisa expediting the order
taking a wee nap on the lawn at the Pt. Reyes NPS Bear Valley Visitor Center and feeling the warmth of the sun and the smell of the earth and grass
enjoying the empty Bolinas-Fairfax Road up to the top of Mt. Tam ~ where are the people today?
dinner in Saucy town with the weather sunny and cool
it's truly all good

Good Horse Friday

2011-04-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Good Friday and I spent all day with horses, my first love = Good Horse Friday.

Started the morning off at the Presidio Riding Club watching the farrier work with Rachel's horse Chester, the on to Willow Tree in Novato to see new three week old colt from Rachel's other horse Jessie... here he is tearing it up:

then up to Petaluma to ride with John D on Cody and Merlot over the expanse of cattle ranch on a cool day.

click here for photos

Up a creek, through a wormhole, with a paddle ~ Teletubbies can run

2011-04-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

This week I had one of those odd people sightings (paddle man, see below) that occur with some frequency in San Francisco. It got me to thinking about some of my favorites over the years and so I share them here with you now...

This man below was presumably resting, photo taken from the 8th floor office window looking down at plaza across the street. My theory (prove me wrong if you dare) is that this person just materialized through the unmistakably wormhole portal to our planet.

One of my all time favorites, several years ago this fellow set up a desk at the corner of California and Montgomery St in San Francisco and for at least an hour, positioned himself motionless lying on the desk, dressed in a suit. Double click the photo to read his sign, he asked for no money but only items to be deposited in the briefcase from the observer's workday world. Note that almost nobody is really noticing him, even the man on the cell phone can't hang up.

Robot man/lady? In front of the Ferry Building some years ago, never saw him/her again after about a month. I suppose it wasn't lucrative enough but he/she did robot movements in this fantastic outfit.

Paddle man ~ seen last Wednesday walking across the Embarcadero in San Francisco, paddle with no boat but this was the third sighting in a week always sans-a-boat, just made me wonder maybe he didn't want to be up that creek without the paddle.

That Teletubbie can boogie, who knew? I was practically running to catchup to the Teletubbie but this was as close as I got, he was hauling-A down California St. Couldn't catch him.

Got Goats? Gimme Goats, nothing but goats.

2011-03-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Goats ~ there's an animal I love. As indicated by the long-standing banner on the top of my blog that never changes... i love a goat. I came to know one named Pancake during college that used to sit in my car when I was out riding horses at a farm in Hope Ranch -- he actually sat in the driver's seat (probably daydreaming for all I know). One of my favorite articles in The Onion is Hey, You Got Something to Eat? and it's worth reading, very funny if you know about goats.

In the office today, Albert pointed out the term "goat rodeo" since I always refer to "goat parties" when things are out of control. I might have to start using that instead.

Scary Monkey Get Away From Me

2011-03-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'll admit I'm not easily scared but one of the scariest things I can think of are monkeys. Yes I've had first hand experience with live monkeys in Thailand and Bali -- no there is nothing cute about them. Today I went to see a free photo exhibit entitled "Holy Cow" in the Bank of America building at 555 California Street. I saw a riveting image that made me have to write about this. Below is an image called "Untitled #95" by photographer Simen Johan, 2001. This image really sums it up.

The only kind of monkey I want to see is one in my rear view mirror as I'm moving away from it at great speed. Yikes.

Ziggurat Hat ... for increased mental energy to Medula Oblongata

2011-03-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

I am looking out the window this evening at the most amazing display of lightning over the Bay. I don't think I can remember seeing anything like it in my 18 years in Sausalito.

Then I got to thinking in a roundabout fashion about the Devo Energy Dome hats and if it would be dangerous to wear one during a lightning episode outside.

Always turn the doorknob to the right...

2011-03-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

I just watched the newly released move The Adjustment Bureau and was pleasantly surprised at how good it is.

The main question of the plot is "Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us?"

Three things of note from the movie~

always turn the doorknob to the right when going through a door
the men from the bureau wear hats
"all I have is the choices that I make" David tells Thompson during a scene in the movie

When you need to "freshen up" digitally ...neolexia at its finest.

2011-02-27T08:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago at work I heard the following term "digitally freshen up". It was uttered casually at 8am before a day-long meeting and without a moment's hesitation as if it was a standard everyday term -- I intuited the meaning. I was so impressed later that evening after not finding evidence of the term doing Google search that I had to post the word on urban dictionary. Thank you Stevens for being a natural neoligist and enriching my day.

In dreams, it looks like this in my head...

2011-02-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

This morning I saw a facebook post from my friend Annette who happened upon a neon sign on Sutter Street in SF. She took a photo and discovered that the artist is one Tim Etchells of which I promptly had to go peruse his website for more info. Tim is putting into form one of the art ideas I've had for a long time, to put random messages as art in attention getting ways (wish I had done it!). These below are three of my favorite pieces. His writing is "diverse" as well and complements nicely the artwork he puts forth.

Styling my Soles with a One for One Philosophy

2011-02-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night I attended a corporate event called "style your soles" hosted by Steelcase at their showroom in San Francisco, the speaker was very engaging and inspirational. Entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes gave a presentation about his firm and how it got started only five years ago and how it's grown to a company that has sold almost 2 million shoes with the caveat of "one for one". For every pair of shoes sold, TOMS donates a pair to an overseas child in need. Also, the event had a presentation and silent auction for Drawbridge which is an arts program for homeless children in the Bay Area. Click here for a link to all of the photos of the evening taken by Rob Van Harken .

Vacation oddities recently seen in the heartland

2011-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

A colleague from the office left for vacation last week and my only request was "Laura, please send me photos from your iPhone when you find something interesting or noteworthy while on the trip".

Today I received the following photo below with the narrative:

"A disturbing scene from America's heartland (Columbus, Ohio): Mennonite mothers in bonnets scouring the aisles of the local thrift store confronted with the cast-off toys of today's plastic society."

I have two questions when seeing such a thing... 1) why are the Barbies almost always naked and 2) where did all those tiny shoes go? are they in the landfill after being sucked up in the vacuum cleaner? Did the dog eat them? What?

For the record, Barbie was never my thing but sister Rae adored them and even had the Sunshine Family collection. The problem was that Barbies wouldn't properly sit on my Breyer horse toys (Barbie never had bendable and articulating hip joints) and so I had no use for them.

in honor of Valentines Day tomorrow ~ lovecloud frequencies ...

2011-02-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Jalal ad-Din Rumi quotes (Persian Poet and Mystic, 1207-1273)

It's a "sport" but without a lot of movement ...ice fishing.

2011-02-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Because we're solidly into winter, now is a good time to post this piece about ice fishing that I put together back in March of 2007 during a visit to Madison, Wisconsin. On that day in March, I took it upon myself to go out and meet some of the legendary ‘ice fisher-people’ that I’d been observing since my first visit in 2003. Lake Monona was near my hotel and so I walked out, introduced myself and spoke with two gentlemen who were engaged in the "sport". They dutifully showed me all of their gear and patiently answered my questions. Incidentally, these guys were catching 7” bluegill fish. What I took away from the experience is a sense that though the sport is historically about obtaining food, the modern day ice fisherman is more akin to a modern day mystic… enjoying the calm, solitary and ‘emotional well-being’ of clearing the head while looking at frozen tundra and fish.

Photos really do say it all

2011-01-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

This is Bob pictured above ~ I'm not exactly sure what year but to guess it might be the mid 1970's as he was loading one of his sculptures into a truck for transport. Bob is my grandfather's brother's son and he has had the courage to pursue art for most of his life as a career. I'm delighted to get to know Bob as an adult now and for over a year, I've been on the mailing list for his personal "photo a day" which are unique and creative, especially for the captions. Three of my favorite from last year are as follows:

swimming in the leaves

twice vigilante

blessing the snow

Another ratite but this one was not in my dream

2011-01-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

My last post was about a dream of ostriches. Now I think my dreams really do portend the future. Yesterday I met an emu named Lynn at a farm in Petaluma where I was a guest to work with "equidology". It was a transformative day to be sure.

Lynn's full time job is to guards this flock of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep and apparently according to Todd, the ranch owner, she is more vigilant and effective than any dog or other animal.

What to wear when riding an ostrich

2011-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

I had this dream two nights ago where I encountered an ostrich at some large outdoor art/music festival and somehow I could communicate with him. Then for whatever reason, it seemed logical that I could get on him and ride around all over the place. The ostrich carefully lowered himself and I got on and rode in many directions and saw many things. It was important I then don the outfit of the “ostrich rider” complete with jaunty pink felt hat that looked like a small cone. Somehow the hat and “outfit” completed the look of “ridiculousness” that I needed to have.

I found the following info below when googling on the web about ostrich riding ~

If you're ever in South Africa and would like to do something different, try riding an ostrich. It can be a fun and exciting activity, assuming you're up for the challenge. Just in case the opportunity arises, here are some steps to follow that will make the ride easier.

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Find an ostrich to ride. There are many in South Africa and other countries around the world, but not every place will let you ride one. Check locally for ostrich farms and ask if they allow rides. Once you've chosen a bird, the handlers will slide a canvas bag over the ostrich's head and take it to the mounting area.

2. Mount the bird. Have someone hold the wings back as you swing your leg over the body of the bird. This will ensure that you don't get hit as you try to balance.

3. Hold on tight. Cross your legs as tightly as possible and keep your feet tucked under the bird's front. Grab hold of the top part of the wings to stay firmly seated as you find a secure position.

4. Enjoy your ride. After the handler removes his canvas bag, the ostrich will start moving. Keep your legs locked to maintain your balance as it sprints around like a bucking bronco. Usually, the ride is under a minute.

5. Enlist the help of the ostrich handlers to help you dismount. This will keep the bird still while you stumble off.

Last but not least, this precious little piece about ostrich racing

Evidence that it's a New Year

2011-01-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I went out to do a survey of the land following a night of merriment. I personally can never manage to see in the New Year at midnight as I'd rather be studying the inside of my eyelids and this year was no exception. Here's a short list of some of the things I found: a flat silver Happy New Year cardboard hat on the sidewalk and not much further there were three empty hip flask size bottles of Hennessy Cognac and a discarded silver balloon on a silver string. I walked further toward Cavallo Point and another errant inflated silver balloon on a string was on the side of the road. I saw the "mother load" of balloons though at 10:50am yesterday as I peered across the parade ground in the rain and saw this quintet of black and silver balloons as they trundled toward the bay in the light storm wind. This photograph shows the balloons and I couldn't help but smile to remember one of my favorite movies as a child THE RED BALLOON that really left an impression on me.

Where are you Mr. C? Are you for real?

2010-12-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

Mr. Claus, are you there?

On my Invisible Santa blog, I'm attempting to post photos over the next few weeks that might help me find this elusive character. When googling Santa's whereabouts, I was reminded of this handy tracker but I have my doubts. But this website about various third-grader's giving ideas about Santa's day is very humorous.

Home again and all five senses fully satisfied...

2010-12-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Just before noon is when I pulled into my driveway here at home today which ended my 1200 mile round trip that I left on a week ago. I always take a moment to reflect and feel blessed for the experiences and people I met along the way. Here is a partial list of what I thought of today that fully satisfied my five senses during my ride home from Big Sur up Highway One:

the deep belly laughs I enjoyed while having coffee with Nicole of Deetjen's Inn right before I got going on my trip
the smells of wood burning fires, especially in Big Sur and Carmel Highlands
the breathtaking beauty of the sun as it warmed up the hills in Big Sur at 8am this morning
the crisp but not overly cold temperature with sun
the CHP officer who waved at me as he passed when I was going 70mph and didn't even know he was passing me
the calm of the Pacific Ocean looking so inviting
no traffic from Big Sur all the way to Carmel and then very little traffic after that
the incredible gusts of wind coming across the freeway in Castroville that almost lifted the helmet off of my head making me feel very much alive
heated vest and hand grips making it all so very comfortable
my motorcycle not having any problems!

Passing time in the "officer's lounge" ...

2010-12-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while tooling along at 70mph and only one hour into my northbound leg of a 500 miles trip home to the Bay Area, my BMW moto gave it up. I pulled over to the side of Interstate 5 near San Onofre and tried to coax her alive again. To make a long story short, there's no better place to break down. I'm writing to you from Long Beach BMW and the lounge they provide here is one of the best I've ever been in. It's called the OFFICER'S LOUNGE (see below) because they do all the police, sheriff and CHP motorcycle repair and service. They have endless food, drink, computer, wireless, huge shop and they took my bike in directly {still determining the problem as I write this}. I'd like to point out the boot polisher at lower left while you wait. And if you ever need a motorcycle tow in Los Angeles, Mike Gregor of Motorcycle Transport is the one to call. Mike was very professional, knowledgeable (he knew about this dealership being open today!) and helpful.

"stikman" sure gets my attention and admiration

2010-11-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

Those days when I'm riding my bicycle to work, I cross over two mysterious little yellow robot images on the road near Ghirardelli Square on Beach Street. As street art goes, these are fascinating to me because I feel they are something I would do if I had the time! I've wondered about them for over a year now and finally did the research.

These figures can be found in flickr pools and blog posts from cities all over the world. They are attributed to Stikman (sometimes searched for and referred to as "stickman"), an anonymous graffiti artist, sometimes perhaps going by the alias "Bob," who has been putting these images up since at least 2006. This article in the Washington Post about the subject is very good indeed. Below is a photo I took this morning of my personal favorite.

La Muerte Eres Tú

2010-11-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent some time at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts to view the Dia De Los Muertos Exhibition entitled La Muerte Eres Tú. The experience was enlivening to my senses to say the least.

All of my photos can be seen HERE

Day of the Dead -- today

2010-11-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just when I started to rest up after a long Halloween, I almost forgot that today is DAY OF THE DEAD
Día de los Muertos
and that must not go overlooked! I went in search of a perfect shrine but none was found. Although I had to laugh that this Holiday has gone so mainstream that Chronicle Books has fashioned a "kit" where you can make your own shrine (see below).

Halloween Three Times

2010-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Halloween as an adult didn't really appeal to me until about seven years ago when circumstances led me to start having renewed interest. When I grew to a certain height and age that people at the front door started asking "aren't you a little bit old to be trick-or-treating?" ~ it was like the day I found out Santa Claus didn't really exist. Fun was over ~ but then that's not true. Friday, Saturday and Sunday night were three distinctly different Halloween festivities and somehow I found the energy to attend all three. Here are the photographic results below, names have been withheld to protect the innocent. I think I will retire now (from Halloween, that is).

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

Does the eudaimon need to be happy? I don’t think so.

2010-10-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

A word I came across today that really got my attention - eudaimonia. I first thought it might be some kind of terrible illness or condition (like pneumonia) but was pleasantly surprised to find out the definition is more inviting by far...just read the WIKI for more.

What I wondered about today on 10-10-10 ~ unexplained phenomena

2010-10-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today's date of 10-10-10 is a good day to ponder unexplained natural phenomena. One of my personal favorites is SHC, better known as Spontaneous Human Combustion. For some strange reason the past several months has produced no less than three different sightings in the SF Bay Area of a perfectly decent pair of shoes upright on the sidewalk with nobody in (or near) them. I just have to wonder if SHC is happening and nobody seems to be the wiser (except me). My other theory is that the shoes are somehow migrating by themselves on their way to be part of one of the many American Roadside Attractions known as Shoe Trees where a harmless tree is festooned with hundreds of shoes, curious indeed.

Tamarisk Shoe Tree

"When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

2010-10-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.
"When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse.
"You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very
shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real
you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-- The Velveteen Rabbit

toy horse found tied up in the Pearl District, Portland

Certified Organic ~ how can you tell?

2010-10-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

12:30pm today in my office: I procured sandwiches and salads for a group of five in the conference room as they prepared for a meeting. I was in the kitchen when lo-and-behold one of my principals came quickly around the corner holding the bottom of his salad container and pointing in the direction of remaining three leaves of lettuce in the bottom and what do I see there? An energetic beetle covered in salad dressing just wishing he was somewhere else. The disappointed lunch eater had the tight facial skin overly-happy (but that means he's really not happy) expression of Howdy Doody in proclaiming his discovery. And then he was gone, back into the conference room so as not to be late and the show must go on.
I heard that the insect discovery rather slowed down the fervor for which the people in the conference room were eating their respective salads. The place where I bought the food patiently explained that they didn't use pesticides and that this is the sometimes unfortunate downside of such a practice. In the end, my Buddhist nature drove me to take the beetle outside and release it the park, which I did.

bells on her toes ~ of course

2010-10-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ride a Cock-horse to Banbury Cross

Ride a cock-horse* to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.

*A cock-horse is anything a kid rides on and pretends is a horse (i.e. someone’s lap, a rocking horse or a wooden stick with a wooden horses head).

Dreams ~ they never get old

2010-09-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

At this time every evening I get actually excited to crawl into the dream chamber of my bedroom. Last night didn't disappoint once again as I went to visit new (and old) places and people in my astral realms and I woke up sublimely happy ~ the kind of contentment I remember when I was a child. Thank goodness for the night. I find listening to multiple tracks of Zoe Keating's music really helps the brain relax in preparation. This song called LOST is especially effective.

“I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time.” --Calvin & Hobbes

Brick Superman copyright Ashtary Design
Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Uncensored Preview Gala at Sausalito Art Festival

2010-09-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended the "Uncensored Preview Gala" at the Sausalito Art Festival and it was pretty darn amazing, as it was last year. Excellent art, good food and very nice entertainment was enjoyed by a throng of people in "black tie" who were freezing at first as the fog blew in over the headlands.

Zoë Keating ~ what the heart might sound like

2010-08-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon on a lawn in sunny California, I had the good fortune to watch Zoë Keating perform on her cello for a small audience. Her music is what I imagine emotions and the human heart to sound like and felt like some kind of "resetting of the soul."

"You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel." -- Anonymous

Marin Century 2010

2010-08-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

This was my fourth consecutive year riding my motorcycle as a SAG support vehicle for the Marin Century as organized by the Marin Cyclists. I covered a total 220 miles with 7 hours as I went in various directions on the course to support the riders. Always the cyclists are inspirational and so thankful when I'm able to help them in the middle of nowhere with some badly needed parts and/or tools.

Toothpaste is what's for dinner, every day

2010-07-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

For several years now I've been an eager follower of this website Toothpaste for Dinner as this guy Drew is just funny, period. I share the sentiments of television as expressed below ~

The Mystery in the Mess

2010-07-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I came across the most intriguing art exhibit at Cavallo Point in Sausalito called From Kehoe to Cavallo: The Mystery in the Mess and it was one of the more meaningful and impressive series of pieces I've seen in awhile. Growing up on a beach town myself, I've seen hundreds of pieces of plastic on the sands so I could very much relate. Judith and Richard have been collecting plastic debris from Kehoe Beach (Pt. Reyes, California) since 1999. The piece that really got my attention was "Wreath of Soldiers", 2008 by the artists Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang. They have a fantastic website as well as a blog and their post from June 8 about the Kraft red plastic cheese spreaders is brilliant.

here's what it looks like when nescience happens

2010-07-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

NESCIENCE

It's no secret that I'm a fan of at least five online "word-a-day" e-mails and this one from July 2nd at the Merriam-Website Online dictionary is no exception. I can think of quite a few opportunities to describe nescience in my life.*

*thanks goes to my friend Halycon who once sent me this image above as an apology for missing a breakfast meeting with me.

A Fresnel rhomb is a prism-like device designed in 1817 by Augustin-Jean Fresnel

2010-07-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today I rode out to the windiest place on the Pacific Coast to see the Point Reyes Lighthouse that came into operation in 1870 and the most amazing "first order" Fresnel lens which didn't fail to impress me.

"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships." -- Charles Simic

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin nailed it ...

2010-07-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

--Benjamin Franklin
(American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Printer, Writer and Inventor. 1706-1790)

Sometimes you just need to look in your battle kit

2010-06-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

"If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction."
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When I was about five years old, my parents let me pick out my first lunchbox. I promptly decided on the "Battle Kit" shown with me in photo below. I carried that thing proudly each day to school for who knows how long.

I've always imagined that we all have our virtual personal battle kits just to get through every day life. There are many good "tools" in the kit if only we remember to look for and then use them.

{photo taken September 1970 in Mill Valley California with my mom Nancy, me looking at camera and brother Ian only two months old}

"I don't think those are Lincoln Logs"

2010-06-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

My five-year-old nephew Keegan recently went to see Toy Story 3 and his review was: "it was so good my head blew off". With that endorsement, I was compelled to go see for myself and now after two viewings, I agree it's an amazing film on many levels, such a display of talent.

Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun at its maximum of 23° 26' ~ TODAY

2010-06-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Solstice today.

Below is a photo I took yesterday at 6pm to show the long shadow, I was standing above the Waldo Tunnel in the Marin Headlands ~ many hours of daylight ~ so nice!

Peña Pachamama ~ de veras!

2010-06-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

There's a place in North Beach, San Francisco called Peña Pachamama that is a jewel of a place. I can't reveal how many times I've been over the years now but let's just say more than a handful. About five nights a week there is live entertainment. Just a few weeks ago I went with a friend in hopes of catching the Flamenco Thursdays show but at the last minute there was a change and we instead were treated to live music for two hours. The performers were owner Eddy Navia and his son Gabriel, pictured above ~ it was amazing. Go if you can is all I can say ~ good food, excellent entertainment, cozy environment.

a weekend in June

2010-06-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it was only the first weekend in June but sure feels like summer ~ rode the horses on Saturday with Jill and Caroline and then Sunday went on an 11 mile hike with Katherin-- Rodeo Beach over to Muir Beach and back. The fog was in and out of the Marin Headlands all weekend so it was quite spectacular as these photos should depict...

Excellent weather + energetic horses = fun

2010-06-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the weather was sublime, the horses felt energetic and the ride was about as good as it gets...

An answer to the Arecibo message from sapient life on Gliese 581 c ~ or what?

2010-05-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

One day it's just a wall in our office, the next morning we find this ...

A strong suspicion is that it could be an answer to the Arecibo message beamed into space on 16 November 1974. We think this bunch of symbols and pattern of placement came as part of an overall answer, an attempt for other life-forms to communicate with earth.

What do YOU think?

Bay to Breakers 2010

2010-05-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

For some reason today is the first time I've ever gotten around to go see the Bay to Breakers race in person... it was a hoot (of course) and i couldn't possibly capture 1/10th of the zaniness on my iPhone but here's what I did capture, click here for more. And the SF Chronicle has some amazing photos as well, click here for those.

horse nap is like a cat nap ~ it's all about sleeping

2010-05-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Being a life long fan of the horse ~ one of the questions I hear a lot when people observe the horses lying down is "are they sick?" There seems to be so much confusion about horses and sleep that I thought (for the record) I would just call out the excerpt from wikipedia below:

Unlike humans, horses do not need a solid, unbroken period of sleep time. They obtain needed sleep by means of many short periods of rest. This is to be expected of a prey animal, one that needs to be ready on a moment's notice to flee from predators. Horses may spend anywhere from four to fifteen hours a day in standing rest, and from a few minutes to several hours lying down. However, not all this time is the horse actually asleep; total sleep time in a day may range from several minutes to a couple of hours.[11] Horses require approximately two and a half hours of sleep, on average, in a 24-hour period. Most of this sleep occurs in many short intervals of about 15 minutes each. Horses need to lie down occasionally, and prefer soft ground for a nap.

Horses must lie down to reach REM sleep. They only have to lie down for an hour or two every few days to meet their minimum REM sleep requirements. However, if a horse is never allowed to lie down, after several days it will become sleep-deprived, and in rare cases may suddenly collapse as it involuntarily slips into REM sleep while still standing. This condition differs from narcolepsy, though horses may also suffer from that disorder.

photos above taken by Caroline Kraus ~ see more of her work at the barn by clicking on this link.

Go ahead ~ defenestrate ~ you'll feel better

2010-05-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.

Last night we held a little defenestration ceremony of our own (but not with live humans). About 16 of us gathered in my home to put some intention behind removing obstacles in our lives, with a tip of the hat to the Hindu Lord Ganesh.

By writing or simply intending those obstacles to be removed and then sending them off outside of our personal spaces ~ we were successful in lightening our loads. Of course there was a bit of alchemy involved, defenestration alchemy and only those of us there will really know that secret.

My co-host Kristy opens the ceremonies on the balcony

Shemaiah demonstrates the "defenestrate jig" after experiencing the lightness of letting go

David puts some personal intentions into bubbles for immediate evanescing

Katherin enjoys the look of the "nose cup" ~

Jon makes an obvious statement ~ we already knew Mr. St. Pea was a big cheese

Some of the physical tools (as opposed to mental tools) of defenestration ~ bubblemaking, incense and ninja parachute people

Big Sur Birthday Weekend

2010-04-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my birthday and so a trip to Big Sur seemed like a good idea to visit my friend Judyth who lives down there part time.

From big sur birthday

Judyth owns and operates an art studio/gallery down there called Soul River Studios and that's where I stayed for the two nights.

From big sur birthday

The ride down there on Thursday with my motorcycle was amazing ~ perfect weather and nobody on the road.

From big sur birthday

My first stop after arriving was at my favorite place NEPENTHE which is just so beautiful and full of local history with good food in the restaurant. I love the origin of the name is from the Greek and definitions are:

1 : a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow
2 : something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering

From big sur birthday

Then after a few hours of relaxing, Judyth's friend Hal came to pick me up. Hal is somewhat of a legend in Big Sur since he's spent all of his 72 years living there and was born on the property he now lives on... here's a picture of Hal after he drove me up his steep muddy road.

From big sur birthday

Judyth met me at Hal's place and whisked me off to Esalen for my very first visit after hearing about it for my lifetime and to experience the thermal baths above the cliffs and the crashing waves just below ~ what with the moonlight it was really a sublime experience. Here's the pool at dusk:

From big sur birthday

We had a few other adventures throughout the visit and then on Saturday, Judyth took me whale watching out of the Monterey Harbor. It was a four hour excursion for which I am still flummoxed to know why people would pay big money to go out and see a glimpse of a whale while enduring what appeared to be unbelievable agony of seasickness. Fully half of the boat was in the throws of kinetosis as the swells were about 8 feet high. We did observe whales and dolphins and plenty of seabirds. Here are my two best photos of the day:

From big sur birthday

One of the highlights of Saturday was the visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which has a permanent installation of jellyfish which is mind-bendingly beautiful every time and also a seahorse exhibit that is quite engaging.

From big sur birthday

All in all, a very relaxing and interesting trip, a full set of photos can be viewed here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kooshoo/BigSurBirthday?feat=directlink

Kumquat ~ enough said...

2010-04-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

This afternoon my coworker Brett gave me a good show when he taste-tested a kumquat for perhaps the second time of his life and like many, his face contorted into a series of grimaces for awhile until at the end, he looked sublime. In the past three weeks, I think I've eaten the equivalent of my weight in this amazing fruit because there's a vendor in SF's Chinatown that has the best one's I've ever eaten. With the help of coworker Andrew, we discovered a dish called Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Kumquat-Jalapeño Marmalade that we both made on two different nights (comparing our techniques)... we highly recommend it if you have the "love of the kumquat" like we do.

By the way, the photo of Brett was taken by his iPhone using a cool app called Hipstamatic that you might need if you have an iPhone!

Please check out the MAKKYNÖNYN bed at IKEA

2010-03-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to IKEA, on a Sunday no less. I won't go back for at least another decade, that place just scared the bejesus out of me. This fellow's video below summarized just about how I felt about it.

Below is a humorous article written in the Los Angeles Times last August about IKEA in Beijing

Beijing loves Ikea but not for shopping
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-ikea25-2009aug25,0,7736661.story

Lastly, I can't help but fantasize about my name as a piece of IKEA furniture... I found this lovely nugget with some google searching.

http://www.blogadilla.com/2008/05/11/the-blogadilla-swedish-furniture-name-generator/

"hold your horses" and other idioms ...

2010-03-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago I went google searching for a list of idioms, and I came across the most refreshing website

IDIOMS BY KIDS

I work in an office where many of my co-workers have English as a second language and therefore the idioms I use during my day are completely baffling to them. A good example is the time I said, "Daniel, my hair is on fire" ~ he looked at my quizzically and so I asked, "don't you have a saying in Cantonese like that?" He remarked "We say, he has smoking head or something like that.

HOLD YOUR HORSES

Poo can make people angry

2010-03-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

This morning while sitting at my desk, I heard the sounds of the nearby printer crunching sheet after sheet of paper as it encountered a fierce paper jam. I walked over and pried out the jammed sheets. To the left of the printer were a half a dozen tabloid sized prints as seen below. I couldn’t help but chuckle to consider what must have occurred to precipitate the sign and I was quick to guess which of my coworkers might have made this. Then I got to thinking how unfortunate that conflict avoidance frequently manifests in note writing versus face-to-face communication for a good many people in this world.

when things seem farcical

2010-03-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

I admit it, i like my "word-of-the-day" e-mails. Been a fan of new vocabulary words from earliest memory and during college I used to read the dictionary at breakfast (instead of the newspaper).

So every now and then it's just fun to google words and go to the "images" result to see what comes up. Just now I googled "absurd" and this is one of the images I found ~ good old Sisyphus, he was truly the embodiment of farcical.

come with me for a low-key randonnée

2010-02-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a twenty-hour day ~ woke up at 4:00am to help my friend Joachim participate in one of his many long distance cycling events, also known as brevets . The San Francisco Randonneurs held the 300K Russian River Brevet which is part of a 2010 overall series. Apparently the ultimate honor for brevet riders is participating and finishing in the Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) event in France ~ riding 1200K in a 90 hour time-limit.

I met the riders via motorcycle at control points 3 and 4 (Bodega Bay and Marshall, respectively) and was able to get a sense of the kind of effort and incredible mental discipline this kind of sport requires. I met Joachim back in Sausalito on my bicycle as he came through on his way to the finish and we rode the final five miles together across the Golden Gate Bridge. The day was long but satisfying, interesting and very educational ~ just check out just the glossary of terms alone.

"floating head" happens

2010-02-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Ever feel like some days you wake up and you have "floating head" syndrome?

It's a sensation where you're just not quite right and you're not sure how to screw your head back on. At least it's important to maintain contact with your own head so it doesn't float away entirely. Like all things ~ it passes with time. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about ~ here are two images that clearly illustrate the feeling. The first doodle is one I see at a coffee shop in Laurel Heights about once a week, drawn by an employee that works there and the second was one i found doing a google search for floating head ... pretty random!

"Jump" I say! A tip of the hat to Mr. Halsman

2010-02-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to dinner with five of my dear colleagues who like to enjoy moments of levity (like me). So at my persuasive suggestion to capture a group photo in the SF Ferry Building recreating a study in jumpology made famous by Philippe Halsman, the picture below was the result. Please note that the lack of airborne movement and extreme blurriness is due to the use of my iPhone as camera ~ second photo was taken just seconds before the jumping attempt.

About love

2010-02-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly” -- Sam Keen

More on the corduroy bicycles...

2010-02-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

Now I've come to realize that these corduroy bicycles are part of a very creative advertising promotion for Levi's because just this morning on the other side of Levi's plaza I saw the teal bicycle (as opposed to last Tuesday's yellow one) wrapped in corduroy. Bravo! What a great idea for unusual product promotion.

Corduroy Bicycle at Levi's Plaza

2010-02-09T21:11:00.001-08:00

This morning on the way to work I encountered the most delightful piece of art ~ this gorgeous mustard yellow corduroy-wrapped bicycled locked to a parking meter. My facebook buddy Sandy said she saw a teal one there on Monday which got me to thinking this has to be some kind of advertising for Levi's. Nonetheless it was amazing to behold.

when you lose your "grip" ~ here's what it looks like...

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

This morning on my walk up California St. to my office, this man (and others) were disemboweling a cable car and pulling the "grip" out of the front middle of the car, and walking it on itself to the repair vehicle. A fascinating site to behold.

Oompa loompas don't sing in heaven. They tidy up the clouds.

2010-01-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Miguel posted this nugget on his facebook about this entertaining and creative blog SLEEP TALKING MAN and as an erstwhile "sleeptalker" myself and current lucid dreamer, I appreciate the content and am in hysterics. Be sure to play some of the audio clips posted to the site.

More on those ravens ~ a week later

2010-01-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when I was out at the barn, ravens Anja and Joachim (see last Sunday's post) were there again but this time they gave a real show of it. For about 30 minutes they sat closely and groomed each other in great detail. The female raven looked "stuffed" as she froze in place and the nictitating membrane on her eyes was visible as she appeared to be in a trance. My shift partner and friend Caroline took some amazing photos of this and other wildlife in better detail.

Anja + Joachim ~ a love story

2010-01-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

Meet these handsome ravens below ~ Anja Manzanares and Joachim de la Cruz. They are a pair of mating ravens who have been out at the barn in Tennessee Valley for years. I happen to have the good fortune of seeing them each Saturday as they stand on the fence (as pictured below) and "talk" to each other while I toil away at the chores.

Inspiration for a New Year ~ Go Ivan!

2010-01-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

This man Ivan Pisarenko has inspired me for the New Year. To read more about his 17,000 mile motorcycle adventure, pay special attention to the part (in the WSJ article) about how he almost gets robbed in Mexico but befriends the robbers and has them buy him a drink.

Santa ... will I see you this year?

2009-12-16T23:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas is fast approaching so no better time to promote my INVISIBLE SANTA blog in hopes to get some stories and photos ~ send them to me for posting!

it's all good

destination Pescadero

For the Snark *was* a Boojum, you see.

The only true adventure

Heart "attack" happening now

Inspiration and where you find it ...

Rainy Sunday with a Bubble King

Canadians on fire

Starting the New Year at a Beach ~ of course

when a fish isn't a fish ~

Zombies ~ it must be true ~ they're all the rage now

Santa ~ It's almost that time

Artumnal definitely stimulates all five senses

Owling, Planking, Batmanning, Teapotting... of course, why not?

Halloween ~ might be my favorite holiday after all

Poetry to go ~ in Sausalito

Habitats and Angels on a Saturday

The final 1K push ~ to home

Elwha Dam Removal and salmon spawning

back in Washington ~ rain tomorrow

Update from Bellingham, Washington

tomorrow ~ north to another country

take a load off in this lovely wingback chair

coulrophobia be gone thanks to a clown from Wales

Grown men shouting ... advice was given.

When golf gets interesting...

One way to be done with it ...

Beached Baby ~ what next?

Baby went for a swim

Giant Baby on a Boat ~ of course

Caution: do not swim with your iPhone

There's a little rip there

I'm certain they speak Ekrean in the nethersphere

Stanley concludes his adventures

Stanley Lambchop comes to visit ~ cartwheeling in the wind

Another turn around the sun today

Good Horse Friday

Up a creek, through a wormhole, with a paddle ~ Teletubbies can run

Got Goats? Gimme Goats, nothing but goats.

Scary Monkey Get Away From Me

Ziggurat Hat ... for increased mental energy to Medula Oblongata

Always turn the doorknob to the right...

When you need to "freshen up" digitally ...neolexia at its finest.

In dreams, it looks like this in my head...

Styling my Soles with a One for One Philosophy

Vacation oddities recently seen in the heartland

in honor of Valentines Day tomorrow ~ lovecloud frequencies ...

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

It's a "sport" but without a lot of movement ...ice fishing.

Photos really do say it all

Another ratite but this one was not in my dream

What to wear when riding an ostrich

Evidence that it's a New Year

Where are you Mr. C? Are you for real?

Home again and all five senses fully satisfied...

Passing time in the "officer's lounge" ...

"stikman" sure gets my attention and admiration

La Muerte Eres Tú

Day of the Dead -- today

Halloween Three Times

Does the eudaimon need to be happy? I don’t think so.

What I wondered about today on 10-10-10 ~ unexplained phenomena

"When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

-- The Velveteen Rabbit

Certified Organic ~ how can you tell?

bells on her toes ~ of course

Dreams ~ they never get old

Uncensored Preview Gala at Sausalito Art Festival

Zoë Keating ~ what the heart might sound like

Marin Century 2010

Toothpaste is what's for dinner, every day

The Mystery in the Mess

here's what it looks like when nescience happens

A Fresnel rhomb is a prism-like device designed in 1817 by Augustin-Jean Fresnel

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin nailed it ...

Sometimes you just need to look in your battle kit

"I don't think those are Lincoln Logs"

Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun at its maximum of 23° 26' ~ TODAY

Peña Pachamama ~ de veras!

a weekend in June

For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.