Happy Birthday, U.S.Navy!

October 13, 1775. The Continental Congress authorized the procurement of two ships to interrupt the shipments of munitions to the British Army. 
That's the new U.S.S.Independence above. Warships ain't what they used to be!

Fleet Week 2010 in the San Francisco Bay

These links should take you to a few minutes of power, skill, and great fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zJW1YdHMfE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFF9uRdScPM

(You may have to cut & paste)

There's Something To Be Said

for a small vegetable farm in the rear 40:

Eat your heart out. :-)

Tilt Shifting

A tilt-shift lens is one of the newest (to me) fads in photography. It provides a focus on only one part of an image, leading to impressions of miniature models of real life.
It also looks funny when used on a familiar scene, such as the painting by Van Gogh above.
Check wikipedia for "tilt-shift lens."

Old Times, Good Times

Recently, DW#1 and I, with friend, did dinner at Bridges with a quite-old bottle of wine. This Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon was produced in 1968, one year before the birth of DS#1, and presented to us as a gift in 1984. It was my 50th, and Joan and Tom Cline (R.I.P.) were the presenters.

The wine was a bit past its prime, but tasty nonetheless. It was a lovely evening full of fond memories.

When the Moon hits your Eye; Like a big Pizza Pie , . .

That's an Airplane!
(I am assured that patience created this picture, not Photoshop. So there!)

Point of View (San Francisco)

Guess Who's Coming to UW Madison

 

Not the usual campus scene, is it?

(ht: Nina Camic)

Three Minutes of Captivating Beauty

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.


Only in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks to Simon Christen

Oakland Scenes

Oakland from Conrad Tse on Vimeo.

Demographics, Bay Area, California

This is interesting:

Red is Caucasian, Blue is African-American, Green is Asian, and Orange is Hispanic. One dot equals the same number of people.
(I think you can click to expand.)

Kyoto, a few years ago...

This was fun, and our guide was the brother of an old Guam friend.

Back in about 2006

Little Cities Crime

We have friends in Clayton, relatives in Piedmont, and so we viewed with interest:

Placeholder

Saranap Diary gazing inside the lobby of the Getty Museum, L.A.

11 September 2001

Pentagon, 11 Sep 01, as seen over Arlington National Cemetary.

The Rook

I couldn't resist.

Hawaii 2010

Good friends, great food, delightful weather, and a free place to stay. We couldn't say "no" and snuck in 1 week in Waikoloa on the Big Island.




We rented a bright blue Mustang convertible. Once we were inside, it made us feel young. (Getting inside and buckling up made us feel a bit old.)

The Mauna Kea opened after about 10 years of earthquake repair in 2008. It more lovely than before. What a treasure!

 The flame tree and the parrots still highlight the lobby view.

Mieko's colleague Vicki and Husband, at brunch, Sunday a.m.

Brunch includes sushi, roast beef, Peking duck, smoked salmon, and 12 deserts.

 The lobby artwork is as before. Almost human.

We snuck in some golf on Waikoloa's Beach Course. Confusion gave us 19 holes, over 7000 yards, and a whole lot of time. Nice course, great conditions, and lots of fun.

And then Mieko insisted on a trip to Honoka'a and a visit to Hula Moon. She has been here before. She has bought stuff here before. They have her sizes.

She bought some more stuff. She is very happy.

The final dinner out was a Sansei, in the Queens Shops at Waikoloa. Half-price on most a la carte items on Sunday and Monday. Excellent abalone (farm raised.)

We had fun.

(click to enlarge)

Gender Equality

From a sideroad somewhere in India.

I can't think of anything to add that won't get me in a whole bunch of trouble.

Gourmet Ghetto

DW1 and I believe that Walnut Creek is overtaking North Berkeley with new, exciting restaurants.

I don't know how to do a review of each one of them that we have tried.

So, now I'll try to import a file from Open Office:

Well, that didn't work. Let's try this:

New Walnut Creek Restaurants

(August 2010)

Sasa
Contemporary fusion Japanese. Good, busy atmosphere. Helpful, friendly service. Foods are varied, interesting, and good. Have gone back.

Shiro
Japanese, South Asia cuisine. Excellent (I was surprised) food with eye- catching presentations. Sushi was great. Lumpia reminded me of Guam. Funky atmosphere. Will definitely go back.

Eleve
Vietnamese fusion. Good imaginative noodle dishes. Open, stylish décor. Will return.

1515
Great décor, good service, excellent small plates of California fusion. Will return.

New China Cafe
California Chinese. No chopsticks. Enticing menu. Familiar Chinese specialties presented in unusual ways. Will return.

VeSu
Stark, tres moderne décor, small plates, beautiful presentations, helpful waitstaff. Food is good. Everything is $1-$2 overpriced, so final bill is high. Probably will return.
 
Just let us know when, and we'll make the reservations. . .

Old Time Pictures

Albuquerque in 1912...a mixture of cultures.

Lincoln Nebraska in the 1940's. I was there, then. Good prices!