Random notes from Japan

Yes, there are Halloween decorations all over Tokyo...any excuse for a holiday, I guess.

Y100 is worth about $1.60. Dollar coins are very convenient. We should have some.

Most things in Japan are very polite and very efficient, You pay for it all. It's (almost) worth it.

99% of taxis in Tokyo run on CNG. We're at about 20 % of SF taxis. We can do better.

"Green" beer is non-alcoholic. It's getting very popular in Japan.

Tokyo streets are, almost uniformly, clean, well signed, and smooth. Green asphalt for walking, red asphalt for stopping. No potholes anywhere.

Old San Francisco

I'm thinking that may be a pic of North Beach and the hill now under Coit Tower.

Fleet Week 2011

Cut and Paste. Enjoy the sounds.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8382264

Bummer

Miscellaneous

(So, I had these two pics and no place to put them.)

 I would take my new Jeep out for a spin,

but, then I'd have to buy some insurance.

:-)

Percussion Time! (In a three-piece suit)

http://youtu.be/wgaD54YcXpA

(I can't seem to do easy links any more. My fault. So cut and paste if necessary. Tks.)
(Tried again Saturday morning.)

Which Was Wrong?

Three pics are of relatively recent man-made objects. Each was designed to be attractive.

As for me, I see humor in each. And, I wonder if Frank Gehry's work will be considered as poorly as the Edsel design now is.

Memories

Please forgive the lack of scale and the reprehensible color combinations but, guess what we found this weekend. Memories of warmth, anyone? :)

This Is Just Plain Fun!

http://twistedsifter.com/2011/08/20-clever-logos-with-hidden-symbolism/

Just click on cut & paste the link above and enjoy a few minutes of design magic.

BTW, if you have a Google toolbar up above, highlighting the URL will cause it automatically to show up in the search box on the G toolbar. Then simply click on "Search." Thank you, Google.

Slow Boat to Sitka

There are a few things to be learned from a luxury summer cruise to Alaska in 2011:

• Cruise life is sybaritic (and should be done at least once in one's life.)
• Alaska is a very big forested state with many islands.
• Alaska's economy, in the small, coastal towns we visited, is anemic.

That said, some memories:

 Let's see...Vancouver, Mandatory Abandon Ship Drill,

Hubbard Glacier (in the distance), Enjoying the Verandah, Ketchikan...

 Ketchikan downtown, Sitka downtown

And, after the cruise, on the deck on Lopez Island, WA.
Nice trip. Enjoyed by us both.
(Thanks for looking.)

San Francisco Summer Fog

That thing the fog does from William Couch on Vimeo.


The Fog is wonderful. I watch it most often flowing over the Oakland Hills to Orinda. This is the view from a roof in the City.Thanks to William Couch. 

Nostalgia

I do remember, foggily, those long-ago days.
(Do not fret. DW#1 pan fried Dover sole for dinner tonight. That got me to thinking.)

Golf is for Views

Rummaging through some files, and found the following:

This is the approach to the ninth hole at the Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco. The course opened to the public in about 2008.
Of architectural interest is, on the left, the Club House, which is on City land. In the middle, in the distance, is the Lone Mountain campus of the University of San Francisco. And, on the right, is the gorgeous tiled dome of Temple Emanu-el.
It's a memorable view, even if you miss a hole-in-one by six or seven strokes.

America's Cup 2013

San Francisco Bay is getting ready for the 2013 America's Cup. The course is inside the Bay, so there are many sites from which to view the races.
The following aerial map is taken from the preliminary environmental documents. Pick your place and set out your lawn chair early. (Click to expand.)

I thought it was interesting...

...and you might, also:

Getting Old Hurts

Haboob!

And here I thought these dust storms (haboob in Middle Eastern Arabic) occurred only over there in the vastness of the deserts. But, on Tuesday in Phoenix:


I'm impressed. Anyone want to buy a time-share in Scottsdale? Cheap price.

America

Earthquake, tsunami via Twitter

This is a fascinating study of Twitter traffic before, and just after the seismic event in Sendai, Japan:

How to Build an Automobile

Now this is how you build a car. Pres. Obama owns one or two auto factories, so he might learn from this:



Wow!