Mixed Reactions, I Presume

Twitter's Biz Stone with some dude he met in an airport lounge somewhere.

I am not happy

21 years old, I would guess.

We send these guys and gals into a foreign country, and then we have meetings to discuss what we are doing? (forgive me) WTF?

Maria Maria

Maria Maria is a Tex-Mex restaurant created by the group that started McCovey's, Bing Crosby's, and Joe DiMaggio's. We dined at their Walnut Creek place, but they're also in Austin TX, Mill Valley CA, and Tempe AZ.
Nice design, very thoughtfully done. A bit noisy. Good service. A professional operation.
Food is good, really good, and lots of it. We ordered too much: Seafood guacamole, duck tacos, chicken flautas, and taco soup. Interesting, widely-varied tastes; spicy. No salt, pepper, or hot sauce of the table; they're not needed.
Moderate prices, average wine list, nearby municipal parking.
If you have a chance, go!

Another acquaintance makes a magazine cover!

Does that make me famous by association?  (Just asking...)

If that's a betel nut, then. . .

what is this thing that so offends the powers in Hanoi, Viet Nam?

Suggestions will be appreciated. Use the "comments" section. Thanks in advance.

Sign of the Apocalypse?

This Week Is Fleet Week

and it's going to be a bit noisy in San Francisco.

Someone famous lives in this house

And it's not me.

(Maybe I'll go hide under a rock.)

Too Many Cooks . . .

make a really fine broth if they're in a large kitchen, with friends, and with a lot of cooking utensils:

Or if it's early in the morning, preparing for a 2-hour run to the huge Denver International Airport and its unending line (40 minutes) for Security.

Rocky Mountain High

Lovely wedding ceremony for Robin & Theo near Estes Park CO. Lots and lots of friends and family. It was fun, albeit a bit high-altitude gasping. Coloradans have a good life!

Learning to Count

For all you parents of young children:

Just to get your two feet tapping...

Marty Robbins (what else can I say?)

I did a bit of this last night on Twitter, discussing country music with @lileks. Here are a few to remember:



And, if that's not enough, try El Paso:

Fires in California (again!)

I know that California has fires each and every year during the September/October months. They are always costly, time consuming, and spectacular.  After a while, you learn not to build anything valuable in the plentiful woods around.
In any case, here's a time-lapse film of the Station Fire around Mt. Wilson (think telescope and TV towers) in Southern California.

Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse

A fitting conclusion, if you ask me. I'm thirsty.

The Sellery House, Madison Wisconsin

 

A modest craftsman-prairie approach to a near-campus house, designed and built in 1910.

Back yard with screened porch. This was a double lot, so  there's a huge backyard. There used to be a big blue spruce tree over the photographer's left shoulder. Notice the exterior entrance to the basement, just to the right of the porch. Lift the lid, and walk down inside. I remember doing that to shovel coal into the furnace.

Dining room at the corner, kitchen to the right. One of the kitchen windows used to be an ice door, opening to the top cabinet in the ice box.

Back to the front of the house. Note that lack of a garage. Prof. George C. Sellery wasn't sure that the automobile was here to stay and, besides, it was only a brisk walk to campus.

The living room. I used to take naps on the cushions on the window seat.

The dining room -  many fond memories. There were huge sliding doors separating dining from living rooms.

The screened porch. Wonderful in Summer.

One of six bedrooms. Each bedroom had a wash basin, at Grandfather's insistance. Pretty modern for 1910. Only one full bath, however, and a half-bath downstairs to the right of the front door.

Our family historian may wish to save these snapshots for someone's posterity. It was fun to revisit the house on our trip earlier this year.

Tea For Me

Okay, so I'm tentatively reintroducing myself to solid food, after a bout with my plumbing. Yesterday, I was pondering the idea of a burger, realizing that I couldn't down a normal-sized one.
Voila! Mini Burgers:
Required:
     Hamburger (10% fat), balled to golfball size
     Onion, sliced thin
     Dinner rolls, flake muffins, or light toast

 Optional:
     Pickle slice
     Cheese
     Mayo
     Mustard
     Whatever

Heat fry pan to Med Hot.
Saute onion slice, retaining shape.
Place hamburger ball and smash thin with spatula. You want a crisp exterior.
Toast bread, roll, whatever you have.
Flip meat once only.

Assemble. Here's what mine looked like:

 

Mmm, mmm  good.

Lo! The New Driveway

I so do not understand Blogger anymore, that I'm afraid to attempt interweaving text with the pictures. Anyway, here are some shots of Thursday's exciting nine hours of activity. Driveway should be good for another 50 years.

How the Mighty Has Fallen...

I remember the days when one of these things got me 360 Yen. Ah, those were the days.

Old As Dirt (but sounding good!)

Posted in honor of some dear friends who went to see Willie Nelson in concert today.