The French Dinner

Last weekend, we hosted an intimate dinner for six at HiltonHouse. Mieko used ideas that she had picked up last month in France. It was a five-course dinner and it lasted for four hours! Mieko was pleased, and we hope our guests were, also.
This was just one of the appetizer plates:

The main course was large, unshelled shrimp. We think that the shells may add taste during the cooking process. The zucchini is from the Farm, and the shrimp are from the New Shrimp Farm (just kidding!):

A good time was had by all.

Aussies Have Talent!

Tommy Emmanuel is pretty damned good.

Ain't No Bugs On Me

We notice that our Big Brother up on top has illustrated a smoky sunset. Pshaw. That's nothing. Here's a snap of a smoky sunrise! If you squint really tight, that's Mt. Diablo to the right of the bright orange thingy.

Lament The Printed Page

***UPDATEOn Thursday, the City of Oakland announced that they would try to find a "public/private" way to save de Lauer's***

Things sure happen fast, sometimes. The printed page is definitely on the way out, thanks to the Internet and the many new, efficient ways of transmitting information.


My all-time favorite newsstand, de Lauer's in downtown Oakland, is closing. Too much cost, not enough income. This place was open 24/7/365, not even closing for Christmas! Where else could you find yesterday's edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch? Where else, indeed.


And this follows the news earlier this week that Cody's Books of Berkeley is finally closing forever. Cody's was there when I first arrived on the West Coast in the middle of the last century. It changed owners and moved in the last few years, but it was not enough to stay afloat. Just too much Amazon, Borders, Barnes&Noble, etc.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

Similar views from NASA at:

http://www.texasjim.com/NASApix/NASA%20pix.htm

(Cut and Paste)

Try it. You'll like it!

Clouds Like This, We Seldom See

But we were warned about possible thunderstorms and dry lightning. Meanwhile, it was about 100F with a humidity of 8%. 8% is about the humidity inside a kitchen oven preheated to 400 degrees.
Fortunately, the prediction is for a cooler day tomorrow.

Summer Solstice

Friday, 20 June 2008, 11:57 p.m. UTC. (About 7 p.m. here on the West Coast.)

Enjoy!

Is This Not Humorous?

This is from a full-page in this morning's paper:

United Way of the Bay Area salutes this year's winner of the 2007 - 08
Spirit of the Bay Award


for making a difference in people's lives and communities in the Bay Area.

(With gas at $4.59, I can't be the only one who found this funny!)

Fathers Day 2008

This Is Getting Ridiculous!

This is Burj-Dubai, 160+ floors, condos preselling at about $3500/sq.ft.,etc. etc.
I am not convinced that this is what architecture and buildings are all about.

Right Turn Only!

So, this is the intersection of I5 and US101 in Glendale. Astonishing.
I'm guessing that the 101 is on the surface and the 5 is overhead, but what do I know?
(We did this intersection a few months ago at Sarah's wedding, btw)

Barrels!

LOTS of barrels.

"Little Boxes"

The boxes above are from France, not Daly City!
I am reminded, however, of my days just before we jaunted off to Guam.
"Little Boxes" was written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, a period of questioning. Reynolds, born to a Northern California family of Communists (not a pejorative, in this case) was educated at UCB, and celebrated the times.
Here's Pete Seeger, and her song:

606 Tries, US$6 million, 3 months

There are no computer graphics involved here! Over and over they set, and reset, and reset...until, finally, they got it right!

(And, yes. When they are touched by rainwater, the 2008 windshield wipers really do start working.)

General Motors Downsizes

Sorry. It's a slow Friday.

Proud Of His Work!

Fredric Baur, who invented the Pringle and the iconic Can, died last month in Cincinnati at age 89. He was buried, at his request, in a Pringle Can. Mr. Baur invented the Pringle while at Proctor & Gamble, who introduced the product in 1973.

To answer your unasked question, not it was not a coffin shaped like a Pringle Can. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred in a standard can.

A Visitor On Our Roof

(Click to enlarge.)
It's the bushy-tailed fellow on the right, not the ever-vigilant huron on the left, who was visiting.

That's Not Fun! I Don't Like This One.

A TACA (El Salvador) A320 ran off the runway in the rain today.
In Tegucigalpa Honduras.
Here's a cockpit view of a typical landing at TGU...it's not easy.

(Caution! The video is 4:00 min. Mine burped while downloading so I let it do its thing and then hit "replay.")
This is why I respect pilots so much.

Not Red Eye

What would you call this? Blue eye, or maybe silver eye?
(There may be an interesting scientific reason about a dog's eye's reaction to a flash of light lurking in here somewhere. Who knows?)

Home-Made Pizza

With pesto sauce, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.

Harvey Korman Died Today

R.I.P.

Change Of Pace

Just a cat in the window.

In downtown Marrakech, Morocco.

What Is It With This Guy?

I'm trying to be very careful, since I may not have a dog in this race. However, here is a quote from Mr. Obama's Memorial Day speech in Las Cruces, NM today -
On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.
Are they rising from the dead, or what?
(Just asking)

Bathtime For Morris

It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, the cat seems a bit bewildered, but cute.

It Seems Like Forever...

but, there has been some progress on the Eastern side of the Bay Bridge.

To remind our readers out of area, the earthquake was in 1989. That's 19 years ago.
Completion is anticipated by 2013. That's 24 years to construct the Eastern spans.
(The original bridge took 3 years to build...1933-1936.)
We all love our bureaucracy, don't we? Or, perhaps, we all were much smarter 75 years ago.
Either way, I'm embarrassed.

Moment Of Silence

Today, in Beijing (Peking)

Because of this awful devastation.

The army is on scene.

(First time I've ever felt good about the Chinese army, FWIW.)
God Bless.

Sloping

This is only for fun:





Two great photos of subjects that (appear to) slope down, from left to right.

Thanks for watching.

We Are Saved! (Materially, anyway)

Fog is rolling in.

Just in time for the Bay To Breakers tomorrow a.m.

Hot Days Are Dog Days

But the winds have shifted to the West, and there's some fog out there, I hope.

These Guys Aren't Endangered

They're just bored.

Too much time spent watching "American Idol" on TV, I guess.

West Virginia

Isn't this fun?



(no further comment)

Where Is...

Drawbridge, California?

Hint: It's close!

Mothers Day 2008

Political Humor

10 May 2008 18:00 GMT

That's tomorrow, Saturday, at 11 a.m. Pacific.
Pangea Day lies somewhere in importance between Earthworm Day and Dr. Spock's Birthday anniversary. (That's just an opinion.)
Go to YouTube and search for "Pangea Day." You will get many, many hits.

So, make a movie, sing a song, whatever.

JUST DON'T FORGET!

"How To Wrap 5 Eggs"

That's the name of a book I received after college. I think that we may still have it around somewhere (EBay is selling it for $300!) It's all about the charming interpretations that the Japanese use in packaging.

I thought of the book when I saw Mieko packing up some berries as a gift.

We All Have The Problem

but this $100 answer from "Sharper Image" may, thankfully, not be the solution!

God Bless The USA!

This from our friends across the Pond, where you must pay the government for the privilege of owning and using a television set.

That's a bit troubling, no?

Cinco de Mayo?

Pshaw! Tomorrow, 5/5, is always Boys' Day! (Even if the Government over there now tries to call it Children's Day.)

So, get to it and fly your Carp Flags!

Useless! (except, perhaps, for Scrabble)

This whizbang has a name. It's a "pilcrow" according to Michael Quinion, who studies this stuff.

And, it's not a backwards "P"; it's a "C" with two verticals attached. Goes back to the Latin.

And look at how many different ways it can be rendered:

Okay, now back to breakfast...

The New Mayor of London

We expect that Boris will prove a bit better than Red Ken.

(But, our fingers are crossed.)

Definitely Spring

The first strawberry crop of 2008 is in, and what a crop it is. Friends and neighbors have enjoyed, and more are invited. There's no way we can eat all these guys.
And, yes. They are very sweet!

Green Thumbs . . .

(Click to enlarge.)

. . . are very useful when decorating the exterior of one's manse with nature's blessings.

(This Spring, so far, has been amazing. And, you should see the prolific strawberry plants out back!)