1906-1945 Fascinating Films

This Flick'r site is chock-a-block full of film of San Francisco and Oakland from the Earthquake to the Key System. Also, references to Wikipedia articles:

http://flickr.com/photos/32912172@N00/2665092589/in/photostream/

What a treasure trove! Enjoy.

More Light!

 

Inspired by yesterday's visit to the Oakland cathedral, I noticed early and late sunlight affecting our humble manse in Walnut Creek.  The above is when the morning sun reaches underneath the roof overhang outside the guest apartment. Wonderful to look at.

And then, below, we have the evening sun setting over the Lafayette reservoir and side lighting the wire baskets on the rear wall of the Barn.

Note that the shadows are almost horizontal. That's neat!
(The texture of the stucco background doesn't hurt, either!)

Cathedral of Christ The Light

Completely covering the parking lot where Hanako learned to ride a bicycle now resides Oakland's new Roman Catholic cathedral:

It is a stunning complex, housing diocesan offices, housing, gift and coffee shop, conference center, mausoleum and, of course, the Cathedral of Christ the Light.

 

(That's about 125 feet from floor to roof...impressive.) The interior is completely lit naturally during daylight. Soft diffused and reflected daylight, with sudden rays appearing through random openings in the skin of the space.

Note the solid riser panels on either side of the pixelated picture of Christ. These panels will each be filled with organ pipes sometime next year. 

On the opposite side of the sanctuary is the entry complex:

 

Chapels and confessionals are secreted of both sides of the sanctuary, behind the concrete walls.

The entire complex sits comfortably overlooking Lake Merritt:

 

A very impressive addition to the architecture of the Bay Area!

(And, it's on base isolators, so it should ride out the next few serious earthquakes.)

Armistice Day

Alfred Hitchcock

Sorry. I just couldn't resist.
(I'll try to be more serious, next time. I promise.)

Stone Mountain, Atlanta

Somehow, I find the story of Stone Mountain interesting.

 

Stone Mountain is the largest granite outcropping in the world, although much shorter than our El Capitan. This hunk of rock was there when General William Tecumseh Sherman, one ugly dude, burned his way through Georgia during our Civil War.

Nowdays, the mountain is used mainly as a public outdoor recreation park.

Whatever, I love the sculpture of Lee, Jackson, and Davis.

Somewhere, Over The Rainbow...

Skies are blue.

 

(click to enlarge)

We certainly needed the rain, but this weekend was fascinating. Showers early on Friday, Halloween, but they had mostly cleared out by the time the neighborhood kids came, and it was pleasantly warm. A good evening.

Saturday was wall-to-wall heavy, cold, windy wet rain. Probably about 2 inches, more or less.

And then today, Sunday, I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof, but it soon stopped. There were patches of blue between the gray, and then the sun came out intermittently and, with it, the inevitable rainbow.

Let's hope we have a wet winter, with lots and lots of snow in the Sierra. 

HALLOWEEN!

Have at it:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html

(cut and paste)(sorry)

Algore Hits England!

 

Hanako reports that it is snowing in Bromsgrove! In October!

Bromsgrove is South of B'r'am, but this photo shows that indeed it does snow in Birmingham.

Stay warm, Tempdisplaced.

You Want Bridges?

We got bridges! Here's the Martinez-Benicia span during construction:

The bridge is completed now, and open for traffic. Too bad that we can't see the beauty of the spans unless we're fishing down underneath it.

Today's Puzzle

Here's the question. The guy in the photo is obviously a chef, or a sous-chef. He's taking a break, and looking at the sun, low in the sky.
Question is: Is the train traveling East or West? (I discount North or South.) Note the position of the arms, and the direction of the light. Consider a chef's duties.

(Neat photo, isn't it?)

Discuss.

Golf is a Humbling Game!

I've been working on my golf swing, which needs a lot of work. Mieko says she found this black-and-white photo of me in the tee box. Notice the lithe body, the full swing, and resistance to the tendency to look up until the swing is complete.

Actually, according to this morning's WSJ, that's Pres. Taft at the Chevy Chase Country Club. His predecessor, Pres. Teddy Roosevelt, told him to quit the game and he refused. "I need the exercise!" So, Roosevelt ran against him in the next Presidential election, and they both lost.
Indeed, a humbling game.

Montclair's Sunday Farmers Market

This is a roof-top view that I thought you might enjoy. The oyster guy is top right, somewhere.

(click to enlarge)

Giclee

Giclee (there's an accent on the first "e") is an ink jet rendering of a digital photo. Interesting stuff, at least to me.
Consider this, a pleasant photo of a French restaurant:

 

And then, with Giclee:

(You must click to enlarge)
Don't know about you, but I'm very impressed!

Rudy & Sunil At GreenHorn Creek

Frost in the early morning, but the Big Heater in the sky warmed us all up. This is on the 18th tee.

Financial Insight!

'Nuff said.

Poach That Egg!

I thought I'd ask DW to try a device I spotted hanging over the aisle in Safeway last week. It's a microwavable egg poacher. Two eggs, dropped inside, puncture the yolk, add some water, and voila! It sure looks good:

 

The problem is always that the yolk is hard boiled, not runny. And we've cut the microwave time down from 1-1/2 minutes to 45 seconds. Maybe I'll buy some Bernaise sauce to make it at least taste better.

If we succeed in this thing, I'll let you know.

Oh How I Wish...

that I could play the guitar...

California Gold Country

Working golf in and around the somewhat elevated temperatures, we did lunch in Jamestown, California. Nice town:

That's Lemon Drop Lane,

 

And that's the National Hotel (1859). Good escargots, lots of garlic.

(The Silverado belongs to the Owner, I think.)

Reap What Has Been Sown (Sowed?)

It's that time of the year again:

Number Four appears to be going a bit fast.