Jackie Link's Blog

Almost there

2012-01-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

Today I rode my bike on a trainer, pedaling like a madwoman, the first time I have had enough bend in the new knee to make it over the top! This recovery has taken longer than I expected, though am just over 6.5 weeks post op now. I never really asked anyone how long it would take to actually forget-about-it, but when I finally did ask I was told it would be 6-8 weeks before the pain and swelling and redness would subside. It was 6 weeks to the day before those things finally lost their grip. Duh, a total knee replacement wasn't exactly a small surgery!

And another thing, I took my big camera out for the first time today. Jane had me to lunch and I tried to get a good portrait of her sweet new pug, Carmella. She mostly looked worried that the camera might not be a friend. Her happy look happens when she's running faster than a speeding bullet. Well, someday I'll figure out how to get a happy picture of her, but it wasn't today.

Watched the last 3 quarters of the 49er game when I got home. Wow! Reminded me of Montana at the end! Good game to watch, fair-weather fan that I am.

Old pictures

2012-01-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

That's Jill and me at the then new Exploratorium. (I've been scanning old B&W negatives from the early 70s.) They'll be moving a new new Exploratorium onto one of the piers on The Embarcadero. Sure glad I can ride a bike around the waterfront, otherwise it seems to me it will soon become gridlocked by people having a good time.

New knee, comin' along

2011-12-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

So far, so good. I can't actually go 'over the top' yet pedaling the trainer, but I'm already months ahead of where I was after the original injury, and if I keep workin' it every day I'll be back on the road in a few weeks.

I'm really pleased.

The Knee, Chapter One

2011-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Thirty-one years ago, after a long weekend of sailing the bay (one night tied to a buoy in Hospital Cove off Angel Island, and another in a berth somewhere further north), I held fore and aft docking lines, one in each hand, ready to leap off the boat to tie up at Pier 39, where we would wait for the tide to change before heading on south to Pete’s Harbor in Redwood City.

We’d had strong winds that day and I was wearing bulky foul weather gear. As we turned into an open guest berth I could tell the current was moving us away from the dock; all I really had to do was leave the starboard lines I was holding and move over to the port side, jump off and hold a stanchion until Ron could rig new lines to secure the boat; but I didn’t do that. I jumped. I hit the dock and went into the water, came up, grabbed the dock, yelled, “I broke my ankle,” and waited for rescue.

The harbor master said later he could see I wouldn’t make it—I probably wasn’t the first dummy to try to jump against the current. Oddly enough, I don’t think I had much, if any pain, as long as my leg wasn’t moved. By then I’d figured out it was my knee, not my ankle that I’d injured. An ambulance was called and I was kept warm for the long time it took them to get there.

The EMTs removed the foulies and cut open my jeans to see my leg. My knee looked really, really bad. Distorted.

My hyper-extended joint had allowed the femur to slam into the tibia, fracturing all the cartilage along with the bone. Squished. An internal crush injury, only seen in motorcycle accidents.

Long story, short: my tibia was rebuilt with bone grafts from my pelvis, the cartilage and meniscus smooched together to heal as best they could. I spent most of a year getting full use back, and even longer for good range of motion.

Thirty-one years later, twenty-nine of them spent cycling all over the world, that rebuilt knee finally wore out and I will be getting a new one in a few days. I plan to be riding a bike again soon. Best thing for it, they say.

Riding between the drops

2011-10-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Just missed a downpour yesterday when I had to ride downtown for a haircut. I love the dark clouds and the deep blue sky showing through.

(But the next day, I was caught in a torrential downpour, twice, and was blinded and thoroughly soaked on my way to school. Spent the day trying to stay warm and dry out. Should have stayed in bed!)

Foolin' around in the Presidio

2011-10-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Judy and Theresa and I went to the Presidio late in the day for a picnic, and to watch a Film in the Fog when it got dark.

I ran off with my camera as the light changed on the old, but clearly recently cleaned, red brick buildings.

We were on the grass across from the bowling alley, next to the old theater building in the Main Post, and above the long row of brick barracks bordering Montgomery Street.

As the sun got lower in the west, I couldn't resist going back to take more pictures of the barracks.

I just wish I got out to shoot at that magic-light time of day more often.

The 1947 film, "Dark Passage," with Bogart and Bacall, was probably the worst film noir ever made, but it was made on location here in the city, some of it nearly where we sat, so it was great fun.

Though it was chilly and windy later on, the fog never did come in all the way.

A Show, or Sticking My Neck Out

2011-09-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

After figuring out how to make prints I then had to figure out what to do with them.

I knew they could be shown where I attend classes at the Fromm Institute on the USF campus, just for the asking. I broached the subject early last year and was given a date in 2013. Fine, I said, thinking at least then I'd have no time pressure about what to show.

But near the end of the spring session in June, I was asked if I'd like to take half the gallery in the fall because the woman scheduled for that slot said she couldn't do the whole space. Sure, I said.

(But I thought I would surprise my Fromm buddies and didn't tell them about the new date. For the new session Open House held last week I told Jane I would pick her up and we'd go early---she was so eager to meet & greet everyone, she walked right through without looking at them. That's pretty much all anyone did that day! Bit of an anti-climax. Sigh.)

Click here for a virtual tour of the 20 photographs

And it definitely kept me busy all summer: first, editing a zillion files to pick which images to print, processing them better for printing, ordering custom mats for the Ikea frames, printing and framing the work, making up announcements and getting them sent, designing the sequencing and measuring and planning the hanging and, finally, the actual hanging with helpers, Jason and Judy, etc., etc., and by Sept. 2nd, it was all done.

I sometimes watch people at school peering at them, slowly, closely, as I pass by the corridor and peek in. Not too many have said anything to me, but that's O.K., I've never said anything to those who've shown there before me, either.

When the show comes down in November, I will stick my neck out further and shop them around to local cafes, keep them out there, maybe even sell a print or two someday.

Walkin' 24th Street

2011-08-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

I met Jill at 20th & Vermont to walk into the Mission along 24th Street, just for something different to do together (she does it often).

We took the stairs down the crookedest-street block of Vermont and then the pedestrian bridge over Hwy 101 into the backside of S.F. General Hospital. I'd never been inside their E.R. and we popped in to take a look . . . it has a much smaller waiting room than I expected. Much smaller. And before noon, it was nearly emtpy.

Walking in a place you only know well from a bicycle seat is quite different---and wonderful. There's still a nice mix of new upscale-trendy to old & funky on that eastern end of 24th Street. Even the old rundown places are spiffier than I expected. Clean. Somehow, it looks more raggedy from the street.

We stopped for a taco in one of her favorite places (very good, will go back), and after stopping at a wonderful children's playground (24th & York), with some of the most incredible mosaic art works I've ever seen anywhere, we climbed back up the hill to her house.

The sun was shining and the day warmed up, no fog in sight (in fact, it's downright hot in my house!).

Perfect.

More blah grey fog

2011-08-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

It took me until noon yesterday to finally leave the house, convinced the sun would never shine . . . and it almost didn't.

I did go aboard the Russian tall ship, though we could only be on the one deck, nothing really inside.

And it was colorless without the sun or blue sky.

There were a lot of people on board and it was hard to find an interesting angle on anything.

One man asked me to take his picture with his camera because he thought I looked like a professional. Not really, I said. He had a weird camera, hard to see anything, but he liked his portrait.

I rode my city circuit, taking a few hills for good measure, and rode on home where the only sun of the day was shining.

Foggy summer

2011-08-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Every day seems foggier than the last and it's hard to bother getting dressed most days. I really don't remember a summer with so few sunny days on Potrero Hill. Yesterday was the exception.

I'm getting a lot of work done, but not getting enough sustained exercise and that is not good. The weight is creeping up on me. I used to average 100 miles of riding per week, then 75, and now only about 30. Last weekend I rode my Cannondale down the ridge to Menlo Park, about 45 miles total. I was pretty tired after 30 miles, so I have a lot of work to do to get my riding chops back.

Yesterday it was sunny for a change and Judy and I rode our Bike Fridays to look into the nooks & crannies along the waterfront. We saw two obscure parks on the bay, Warm Water Cove and Heron's Head, plus Mission Creek from both shores. And we pedaled 27 miles without really going anywhere!

We stopped to see the Russian tall ship, the Pallada. and then got a hotdog on Crissy Field. Really nice day, though the fog came back in too early.

On the way home we toured both shores on Mission Creek. This is the shallow south shore; I wonder if it's low tide?

A month

2011-08-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Gone to seed.

Still workin' it

2011-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

I finally got out on the bike again today, but didn't get very far. I'm still learning how to use my camera with nothing but manual settings. It makes a HUGE difference. Post-processing time is nearly zero and my exposures are spot on. As long as I have a minute to think it through, that is.

On Mission Creek

2011-07-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ah, the 4th. Again

2011-07-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Back to basics

2011-07-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

I went out on my bike on Saturday to practice using the camera the old-fashioned way, where you think through what combination of ISO, shutter speed and aperture to use in every situation. Of course, with film, ISO was non-negotiable once the film went in the camera. I got pretty good exposures of uninteresting subjects. The point was to learn, learn, learn which button/dial does what and make it second-nature. Have to keep doing that.

Time for a new picture

2011-06-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how I can be seen twice in this doorway into the ugly "jukebox," the SF Marriott Marquis Hotel, where the "quilted" Jewish Contemporary Museum is also reflected.

Just reading murder mysteries

2011-04-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

It is time to take a break from everything I usually do, including writing about this 'n that on this blog. I toy with the idea of not writing at all, and I know no one looks at it anymore, anyway, but it does no harm to leave it sit for however long this non-writing spell lasts.

I went to see and hear Henning Mankell at City Arts Lectures on Monday. He wrote the Wallander books, among others. Since I liked the BBC series with Kenneth Branagh playing the Swedish detective, I started reading some of the books before the lecture, and even got a DVD of the television version. Good escapist stuff.

Printing large(r)

2011-03-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

I finally opened the box of 13 x 19 matte paper and made these two prints today.

Signs of spring

2011-03-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

No words

2011-03-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Colorful Saturday

2011-03-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, just riding around town to run errands, I came across this mural at St. Paul's Parish and School in Noe Valley, and then riding down Market Street, I was surprised by the St. Patrick's Day parade.

A Haunting

2011-02-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

I'm up earlier than needs be because of a nightmare. I was again working in the basement X-ray department of the old Southern Pacific Hospital on Fell and Baker, back after a long absence because I needed extra money, and every time I went to the files behind me for a returning patient's file number, I was finding misfiled flash cards,* becoming more and more alarmed and upset until I was tossing and turning in bed. Techs I knew in 1965, appeared, but the relief clerk I was explaining the problem to was a young guy who actually works in the office at USF now.

The radiologists were from every era, but the rooms, and the entry hall where my desk was stuck, were from that old hospital. I went in the back to find an empty file drawer to use to reorganize the misfiled cards I'd been pulling---by this time a few hundred---and ran into Livia, the doctors' secretary at Children's Radiology Dept. (from my years there in the 70s, and who is now a fellow student at the Fromm) and that's when I started telling others about the problem of returning patients not having had their exams compared, which is of extreme importance for discovery, diagnosis and staging. And there were several other stories interwoven involving other clerks and techs, and candy and toys stashed in file drawers, but all the people popping in and out were from those 13 years in the two X-ray departments. When I finally woke myself up, one of the radiologists was sitting with me, growing more and more concerned about the terrible consequences he could foresee.

A variation of this actually happened in both departments and everywhere I ever worked. I was always uncovering embezzlements and hidden horrors like that.

*a "flash card" is the patient information and exam date, typed on a 2" x 3" card, and was used to transfer the information onto the film in the darkroom. They were the actual file card at Children's, but as I can see in this picture, the date was added to a larger file card at the railroad hospital. Digital files mostly took care of that, but typos and misspellings cause electronic "misfiles" just as easily.

Postcards of the day

2011-02-26T18:18:00.001-08:00

Between the rains

2011-02-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I rode my old bike to Twin Peaks for no other reason than I knew the clouds would be pretty and the tourists happy, and both were true. And then I had a taco in the Mission and rode back home. The view from my hill was just as pretty. No tourists.

Wasting ink

2011-02-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

I bought sample packs of lots of different papers to try and decide which I like best, and today I spent an obscene amount of time setting up a still life to color test against ICC printing profiles (as if I know what I'm doing).

Tomorrow I waste ink.

Unless the sun is shining, then I ride!

At the Old Mint

2011-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I rode downtown to the Old Mint at 5th and Mission for a gathering under one roof of most of the neighborhood historical societies.

Remember Fat Boy?

That's my friend Jane reading a display.

My neighborhood was well represented by Peter Linenthal.

I can hear this fireman's Irish brogue, can't you?

Visiting the Slab Man

2011-02-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

I walked down the hill to the 22nd St. station this morning to catch the train to meet Kit in Menlo Park for lunch. Afterwards, we went to the Cantor Center on the Stanford Campus to see the Helen Levitt exhibit. And then we went upstairs to the permanent collection (where taking photos is allowed) and I was glad to see the Slab Man by Duane Hanson back in his usual spot, holding up the wall. Coffee and dessert and back to take a Baby Bullet train home. Lovely day.

Monday morning

2011-02-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

Jill says she checks my blog daily for a spell and then gives up when there's nothing new. And so when I next see her I ask, has she's seen such 'n such? No, she says, I gave up looking.

Well here's another new image, just to keep her on her toes.

The real culprit to the decline of personal blogging: Facebook. Twitter. I don't have time for the constant back and forth. Or maybe I'm just not social enough.

A birthday

2011-02-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

Jill and I walked along Crissy Field all afternoon, stopping for a bite to eat at the Warming Hut, enjoying the balmy spring-like weather. There were lots and lots of people also enjoying the day. I took snapshots but they're not very interesting so I won't bother with them.

But yesterday, while riding around the waterfront on my bike, I acted like a tourist to take this of the fishing boats. Really, being a tourist in one's own town is a lot of fun. And then I had a burger & fries at In 'n Out.

A brief break

2011-01-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

If you check my blog from time to time you will have noticed I've not written in weeks. (Hey, why the heck haven't you checked to be sure I'm still breathing?) You probably guessed that I'm immersed in making images these days and know that there isn't much to write about that, and you'd be right.

On Thursday, Jane told me there would be a full moon that evening and it looked pretty special from her neighborhood and so I got to Alamo Square before dark and set up the tripod in the middle of the dog walkers' field and waited for it to rise in the east. I had no idea where it would be visible and at first thought I was seeing a bright orange dome, like the Galleria downtown, but it was the fast-rising moon. I also had no idea how to set the camera and came home thinking I'd failed completely, but this image was salvageable and a great learning tool for double-processing. (Be sure to click on this image to see details.)

Riding around town again

2011-01-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

New Year Greetings

2011-01-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

with another composite photo, this one of my sweet Sibyl.

and then the sun came out

2010-12-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

At least I finally got out for a couple of rides around the waterfront this past week. Nothing too strenuous, but mighty fine to turn the pedals a bit.

Looking for the silver lining

2010-12-25T09:35:00.001-08:00

Still not much new

2010-12-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

Which doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Jill had a birthday Monday and after dinner here with Jason we all went to see "Black Swan." I'd already gone to see it with Jane the week before but it was so stunningly intense that I wanted to see it again; and I'm glad I did. Whew, what a film!

For her birthday card I made a new scan of this fuzzy, faded photo of us together, taken when she was a few days old. So sweet.

The sun was shining today for a nice change, but I stuck it out with my Photoshop tutorials. Sibyl insists on playing fetch just when I get really involved and I stop to play with her for a while. Then I'll make a meal for one or both of us. Takes a lot of time.

Nothing new

2010-12-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

Aside from crackin' the books to learn new software, I'm not doing much.

Today I'm cooking vegetable soup and a beef and vegetable stew. I bought a package of celery hearts over a week ago and have had to figure out how not to waste them. The ol' celery conundrum. Wish one could just buy a few stalks of the stuff and be done with it!

Another B&W week

2010-12-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

. . . with a bit of split-tone thrown in

This gull kept me company as I sat on the dock of the bay eating my lunch.

It's very difficult to take a picture of a picture in a gallery without getting reflections from the lights. This photograph is in the lower floor at City Hall. After I left there I saw the same image reproduced in the bus stop shelter across the street. Click it to see the bus driver feeding the raccoons. I wonder if he got in trouble for it. (You can read more about it here)

You really have to click on these images to see their detail (back arrow to return).

Work work work

2010-12-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to Kit's in Menlo Park and she loaned me her old tripod. I took this when she still had wet hair, but I used it to learn more about file handling in my new software, Lightroom3.

I spent all of today working with the new programs, making one new print and trying out the tripod.

My eyes are falling out from all this work.

Knuckle hills

2010-11-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Today Kaethe and I drove to Pt. Reyes with the excuse of going to the local artists' Open Studios, where I learned from Marty Knapp's photographs that what I've always called Knuckle Hills is named Black Mountain - and I wonder why. Not exactly black.

We drove up and up and up, and up some more on a skinny road to see Richard Blair's studio and it was worth doing. He has an 8 x 10 view camera, big enough by itself, but it's on an industrial-sized rolling tripod, practically a crane. He also has the largest printer in private hands that I've ever seen.

This photo was taken from Tom Killion's back yard. He makes meticulous colored woodcut prints of bay area views, much in the traditional Japanese style. I love his craftsmanship, if not his palette.

Good day. Drove home on Hwy 1 and decided I like it better by bike; it's too scary in a car.

Brrrrr, it's cold!

2010-11-24T23:09:00.000-08:00

And this was the only turtle at Stow Lake not buried in the mud for the winter. He was stretching both webbed feet to catch every last bit of sun.

Wasting time?

2010-11-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

I've been searching old files for images to work on while I learn new software and then I get tired of that and read other blogs. Now it's past lunchtime, and then I'm going over to Berkeley for dinner. I like rainy days to putter around and today was supposed to be rainy. The sun has been in and out from behind dark clouds all day and it would have been grand to go out and make new pictures to work on. But here I sit.

Blogspot has changed how they handle pictures. I can use X-Large for verticals, but horizontals get cropped. You have to click on the image above to get its full, colorful impact.

Rocket ship on The Embarcadero

2010-11-18T18:49:00.001-08:00

See full story at Raygun Gothic Rocketship

Press Release

Mayor Gavin Newsom, Black Rock Arts Foundation And Port Of San Francisco Unveil Monumental Raygun Gothic Rocketship Sculpture

08/06/2010- Mayor Gavin Newsom today joined the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF) and the Port of San Francisco to celebrate the unveiling of Raygun Gothic Rocketship , a 40-foot-tall sculpture created by a team of Bay Area artists lead by Sean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, and David Shulman. The Rocketship , poised as if to board passengers for a typical run to a nearby stellar destination, will remain at the Pier 14 Tidal Plaza, at the base of Mission Street, on the Embarcadero for a 14-month temporary exhibition.

The 40-foot-tall artwork offers a retro-futuristic, highly-stylized vision of space travel circa 1930’s-1940’s science fiction and is the latest in a series of temporary public art exhibitions sponsored by BRAF to enliven and activate public spaces. The sculpture will be accompanied by a companion piece, the Rocket Stop designed by Alan Rorie, which tells the story of the Rocketship ’s exploits, providing route, schedule and other information. The installation will be illuminated for nighttime viewing.

A whole lot of images today

2010-11-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

I went out on my old Miyata today, lugging a tripod to shoot the arches and doorways inside Fort Point. On the way there I came across the new white tents for this year's Cirque de Soleil, a passel of Giant's fans huddled under the palms at the ballpark, people enjoying the Rocket Ship on The Embarcadero and even caught In 'n Out Burger without a crowd at lunchtime. I took my burger & fries to the newly restored seating in Aquatic Park for a picnic. It was very warm in the sun.

And now I have 118 images to work on. What a day!

(I just noticed the blue in this image and have no idea how it got there, but I like the way it reverses Sky.)

A break

2010-11-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

I'm looking at about 8 weeks of time before the Winter Session starts at school. I'm trying to decide which classes to sign up for, with a choice of wide-ranging subjects like Cities, Corporations, Famous Trials, Short Stories and Film Noir - and a whole lot more. These are all lecture courses, with nothing required of me but some reading and my attendance.

I wish there was a class in printing with my new printer, but being self-taught keeps my gray matter exercised.

For a long time I'd been thinking about printing my photographs and recently took advantage of generous rebates to finally buy a good, pro-level printer. After hours of research and reading reviews, I went with the Canon instead of the more widely used Epson. I will probably regret it, but it's done. I spent some time learning the software and trying different methods, and after only four color prints of the Cliff House flowers, above, it began to jam. Grrrrrr! Apparently, the damp weather gave the paper a slight curl, enough to be a problem. I can work with that, now that I know about it. Already, I like the results better than what the photo lab had made with this, my very first B&W print. Richer blacks.

Now I have to take some new pictures to work on. What fun!

A million fans

2010-11-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

O.K., I'm just a fair-weather fan, but I watched the playoffs and the Series and even rode my bike to the parade today - more on that later. I have a bittersweet history with the Giants, going back the 52 years they've been in San Francisco.

In July 1958, I met my father at the then Southern Pacific Station for dinner, after which we drove to a parking spot on Potrero Hill, and walked over the highway on the pedestrian bridge to the old Seals Stadium for a Giants' ballgame. It went 11 innings without a hit. I don't remember now who won that game because my 15-year old brother was in a fatal auto accident that day and we didn't learn of it until we'd driven home late that night.

Some years later, after my father died, my mother moved into a condo in San Mateo, where the outfielder for the Giants, Jack Clark, was her neighbor. I'm pretty sure she was already a fan before he moved in, but she'd giggle about knowing Jack all season, like icing on her cake.

I've kept her Giants' cap with its 1984 All-Star Game button on the side. I got it out last week and set it in front of the TV, and she was very much with me, rooting for her team.

And with her in mind I decided to ride my bike to the parade. Usually, parades in this town draw a decent crowd, but nothing I can't ride through. Today was different.

There were fans walking on 7th Street from as far away as Townsend. By the time I got to Market it was clear that this was an unusual turnout. I could see and hear the helicopters and knew it would be a long time before they got to us but I amused myself taking pictures of the crowd. I kept moving toward Civic Center - and with my big bike it became more and more of a challenge.

Fans at Market & 7th Street at 11:15.

Fan on street light at Grove & Larkin

But one thing I saw in Civic Center that touched me, and that I did not photograph, was a family with a framed picture of a man and a shrine of Giants' memorabilia and flowers and a glass of what I guessed was his favorite beverage sitting on the pavement so he could join them for the fun this week.

And then it got really crazy as I continued walking my bike west on Grove, hoping to get to the other side and continue on to school. By Polk Street the crowd was gridlocked and I had to fight against claustrophobia, fear of stampede, but my bike and I finally popped out the other side and I pedaled away.

It said in the paper there really were a million fans in that 1.5 mile stretch of Market Street. A lot of them were still there when I rode back through Civic Center at 3:00. Such a day.

Hats on parade

2010-10-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

With a double bill of a Columbus Day Parade and Fleet Week, North Beach was really jumpin' on Sunday. I took my Bike Friday, my big camera and a long lens to see what I would see. Because one can't easily change lenses in a crowd, I settled on the long lens for the parade. I stood at the corner of Stockton and Filbert, or the northeast corner of Washington Square, with the parade coming at me from out of the sun - less than ideal.

Looking through my images later, I was struck by the hats and caps and crowns. Here's a sampling:

Christopher Columbus landing in North Beach.

I guess there would have been Italian cowboys (love the Stetson).

And then there were the crowns.

Many streets were turned into outdoor cafes. Italians in this town sure know how to party.

Street Art vs Tags

2010-10-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of Greta Shred's mural in Clarion Alley in late 2006. When I went back last week I found it much changed by taggers.

What I can't figure out is why some murals have been seriously defaced and others left totally intact for years and years. The subject matter doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.

In an ongoing effort to find the names of the mural artists, I've been researching on the Web. Under Clarion Alley images, there are about 22k to plow through, looking for someone who dependably knows the attribution for a given mural. I also bought the just released book, "Street Art San Francisco, Mission Muralismo," but it has limited use for finding names, since it covers a wider area.

And that makes me wonder why I'm doing this, since it's so already done . . . maybe because the murals are often beautiful, tell stories - and that they fascinate me?

For instance, when I found Greta's name, but not a title for the mural above, I also discovered she was the publisher of a 'zine called mudflap, and that her street address was 666, hence the devil on her handlebars. If you click to enlarge the top image, you'll see all the neighborhood influences, including early Spanish, Irish, Italian, as well as the recent Latin. (But, ice hockey?)

It began on Sunday

2010-10-05T16:59:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, I hopped on my old Miyata, and taking along the big camera and a long lens, went on a photo safari, primarily to revisit the murals around town.

I never know when I will get back in the groove, but since Sunday I've made about 420 new files. One or two might be worth keeping.

First on my list was the fence-mural near 228 Clara, somewhere south of Market. I hadn't seen it for six years and didn't know if it had survived. I found it intact, though a bit changed as the owner paints over rude tags.

Before I had my camera out I heard the chain in the fence rattling. A man emerged from whatever was behind the fence. I asked him if he was the painter. No, he said, he thought the artist lived in the house next door, he'd only been here for five months.

After he left, I took lots of new pictures of this reproduction of Matisse's dancers, and then I looked through the chain-hole in the fence.

I was surprised to see a large, well kept garden behind the fence. I think I expected a car park or a garage. And another surprise was a big backpacker-type tent.

Perhaps that is where the man is living now.

There are many stories here and I wish I knew them.

More murals

2010-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

I've taken a lot of new pictures of the Market Street Storefront Art Project, though this is a mural, a very long sidewalk mural. More to come . . . if I can find time to work on the files.

Toucan overhead

2010-09-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

All three of these women were snapping their fingers. I don't know why.

(Click on image to enlarge it and see the toucan.)

Saturday: Fort Mason & beyond

2010-09-26T08:30:00.001-07:00

It was still cool when I rode over to Fort Mason for the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale yesterday. I only bought a now defunct photography magazine, photo metro, which was published locally and was of unexpectedly high quality. Sorry, but not surprised, that it failed.

From there I rode in the heat over the hill from the Presidio into Golden Gate Park to check out the Tour de Fat. It's the first time I've been there when the sun was shining. There were hundreds of bikes in the valet parking lot, but I didn't stay.

And for a real treat, last night I went with my old friend Ron to Yoshi's on Fillmore for dinner and McCoy Tyner. Ron is on his way to Paris with his new S&S-coupled Surly, and since we'd been to the early set, we sat over maps talking about Paris and bike packing strategies afterward.

It's still cool in my house this morning, but it's expected to be in the 80's again today. I'll still go out exploring the city by bike and then to Kaethe's for a visit. Better get going.

I have a crazy turtle

2010-09-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hercules, like no other box turtle in the world I know of, chases dogs!

Whenever Denali or Cinderella (lab and husky) come near, Hercules goes ballistic trying to bite the nose poking through his fence.

This afternoon I sat on the porch steps watching the drama and when the dogs came to visit me, Herc made a beeline across his yard, head held high to see us above the plants, racing for all he was worth. I wonder what he would do if he actually caught a dog, or heaven forbid, a raccoon. (That really worries me.)

Seeing a box turtle run is way up there on the bizarro-scale!

Busy season begins

2010-09-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

. . . and I'm too busy to write about it. Maybe tomorrow.

10/6/10: I just discovered this is Chor Boogie at work. See the mural on Market Street posted Sunday, 10/3/10.

Working in b&w

2010-09-03T18:49:00.001-07:00

I will work in black & white for a while, if only for the practice.

Boring day

2010-08-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am so restless after a day spent reading murder mysteries, working on old images from Holland and doing little else. The wind was blowing so hard this morning that I decided not to go riding. That was a mistake. I'm so bored with my own company, sitting in a chair either reading or fuming about my TV, that I could scream. Arrrg!

Yesterday Kit and I went to SFMoMA for the day and had a great time. I didn't have my camera, but when I got home I made two new galleries of old images in pbase: "Museums and Art," and "Murals, Hearts and Street Art."

The view from here

2010-08-25T09:05:00.001-07:00

My new table was delivered last Thursday evening and I assembled it in less than two hours, without cursing even once. (Slow but sure, that's me). It's very nice and made with real wood. Solid.

On Monday I had the satellite dish installed and was immediately disappointed to see ghosts in my mostly lousy image. It turns out one needs an HD receiver for the new HDTVs. Since I had a crystal clear picture on this set with my old rabbit ears, albeit on only the one station they pulled in, I simply couldn't accept paying big bucks for a lousy picture; nor could I stomach paying even more for an HD receiver for the crap I knew I'd be getting on my 200+ stations.

After many phone calls and a repeat visit from the installer, I plunked my angry self down in front of the set all day yesterday, watched a DVD for awhile, stewing in the heat wave as my house heated up, and then as I fixed my dinner I could see my huge TV from the kitchen and thought, gosh, it looks better from a distance.

But, oddly enough, on most stations the ghosts are disappearing and the picture, while not crystal clear and wonderful, is more acceptable. They did say in one followup call that it takes up to 24 hours to download, whatever that means.

But I'm going to watch a movie in an air-conditioned theater this afternoon and pray the fog comes back in soon. This has been a summer of cold windy days and then, suddenly, this other extreme. My house was over 90F yesterday; even the fan didn't help much.

later . . . and as I left the movie in Stonestown the fog was on the way back. Whew!

Summer-la Mission-Commitments

2010-08-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Riding around town in sandals, I know it's finally almost maybe summer in Fog City. Perhaps 74F inside my house doesn't quite make it a heat wave, but considering that I've had to turn on the furnace several times lately, it's warm enough.

I watched the DVD film "La Mission" this week. Knocked me out; it's so good I started it from the beginning again when it ended.

I rode around the Mission this morning and took a few new Mission murals, but it was midday and so I didn't get what I wanted, but the murals will still be there another day (I hope).

After picking up more Tube Times to distribute, and after my super vegetarian taco on Valencia, I crossed the street and bought a new cheap prepaid cell phone. Now I have to enter all the old phone's numbers into it.

And from there I rode around, hemming and hawing about my need for cable service for my new TV, and finally committed to two years with AT&T/DirecTV. Really hurts to pay big bucks to watch c.r.a.p., especially when most of what I'll probably watch has always been free. Grrrrrrr . . . .

Rabbit Ear Blues

2010-08-11T19:13:00.001-07:00

I knew I would probably have to break down and get some sort of cable service, but I've put it off for years and years. Last year I grudgingly got the analog to digital converter and better rabbit ears for my old hand-me-down T.V., but it was time to finally get a new flat screen. After much research I bought this 32" Samsung from CostCo today, using Jill's membership.

But using her card meant they would only take cash, and that meant making a trip to my bank. And so that's what we did.

Once back home, we set it up in minutes . . . and only saw a lot of snow, and a message about either a missing connection or a weak signal. I tried punching in channel numbers and the only thing to pop up was Channel 7-1, -2 and -3. My DVD player works fine, but my stereo isn't being recognized.

Now I have to decide which cable company to be fleeced by, and get something better than a typewriter stand to put it on.

So far, I've watched Oprah for the first time ever and endless newscasts, amazed at how some folks look like overly made up plastic action figures (think Schwarzenegger) and others look perfectly normal.

It does hide the rabbit ears---it's too skinny to set them on top.

What I did today

2010-08-08T19:13:00.001-07:00

I'd set the alarm too early and was up at 07:00. I got a message from Ron wanting to postpone today's ride because of our crummy weather, so I went back to bed. I was determined to get out, no matter the gloom, and rode off on my town bike by noon, wearing my high-top sneakers and layers of warm clothes, heading into the Mission along always colorful 24th Street. I kept riding along Valencia, only detouring to the Rainbow Grocery for sunflower seeds for Sibyl (they were out), and then rode via The Wiggle to Golden Gate Park, around the Conservatory of Flowers and north along Arguello, wondering if I had it in me to go up that last steep block into The Presidio (I did).

No sign of sun, anywhere.

I whizzed down hill and stopped at the Officers' Club to see the annual watercolor exhibit. Good stuff. Afterwards, I went into the visitor center shop, and for the very first time noticed the murals all around the room. How could I not have seen them the half-dozen times I've been there?

By then I was hungry and wandered through the Pacific Islanders' event in the old parade grounds without trying to get food (lines too long), thinking I'd go on to In 'n Out Burger in Fishermens Wharf (lines waaaay too long), and kept riding through the Financial District, and SOMA, and finally settled for french fries and a milk shake from the McDonald's near the ballpark. And they were good.

I took my bag of guilty pleasures to a bench near the Mission Bay library along Mission Creek (no sun there, either, but I could see it off to the east), ate, and then got a book and two CDs before heading back up my hill home.

Not the best ride, but I liked it.

So gloomy!

2010-08-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

It has been overcast every single day for weeks and weeks, even in my southeast corner of this foggy city, where the sun usually shines. It's nearly noon and I'm not dressed yet because I can't figure out what I'll be doing today. I like to ride my city bike around town on Saturdays, seeing whatever, photographing stuff, watching tourists and having low-key adventures along the way. Lately I've been riding around with my camera on my back and never taking it out.

. . . . the sun appeared this afternoon, but all too briefly. Hercules made friends with his turtle statue again and then ate the food I put out. I fear he won't gain enough weight for the winter if this cold weather keeps up.

Friday, again

2010-07-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

Not a good week. Tuesday, while shopping in big box stores for a new T.V., someone hit my car door and did not leave a note. I'm stuck with the deductible for the repair. Other than that, I've just been working on files to make a gallery of Sibyl photos on my pbase website. It's been so overcast every morning that I've spent a lot of time in the house, but I think I'll go out for a city ride today.

Five years ago today

2010-07-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today I started this blog. It was a Saturday and it was too hot and I didn't have much of anything to say. I guess I still don't have much of anything to say, but there it is. I still ride a bicycle a lot and take a lot of pictures and do a bit more of this and that. I still read and write and hate housework and swear this year I will clean out my excess junk and make something of this house, really!

I'm happy.

And there you have it.

On another note: I took off the big blue Bandaids on my avulsed shin and after a shower replaced them with a big sheet of Tegaderm, left over from my E.R. days (expiration date 2001), which I used to carry along on bike trips in case of road rash. Works great; lets the wound heal without drying out.

Doored!

2010-07-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

Riding along Market Street towards the Ferry Building yesterday, I was about to stop to go into the S.F. Bicycle Coalition offices just past 5th Street when a car pulled ahead of me, stopped well away from the curb and a backseat passenger opened the door into my leg as I was riding by, stripping me of about 4 inches of skin and knocking me over onto the sidewalk. It hurt like hell. And I said so when a young man stood over me, all apologetic. A woman helped me back up, said her husband had been run down just a few days before, though I don't know if he was hurt. I pulled up my pant leg and could see a swath of missing skin, but it wasn't bleeding (that soon changed) and once I figured out nothing was broken I went on about my errand.

By the time I got up to the SFBC's 10th floor office blood was running down my leg, and sweet Jodie whipped out their First Aid kit and off we went to fix me up.

I don't really want to take my big blue Bandaids off, but guess I'll have to take a shower soon. (It's a very shallow scrape, but will be messy once uncovered, I'm afraid.)

Jill gave me her high-top All Stars and they're by far the best, most comfortable bike shoes I've ever worn, now that I have platform pedals and strapless toeclips on my Miyata . . . no need for cleats on that bike. Thanks, Jill!

A colorful Sunday ride

2010-07-12T07:58:00.001-07:00

Cyclists on 24th Street - see the doggie in the window?

I forgot what he was playing on his piano bike, and I don't know how he turns corners, but he was a wondrous sight in his Tom Mix Stetson!

There's a bulb-out sidewalk planted with very colorful flowers at this corner of 21st & Bryant. There are murals on two corner buildings.

I loved the way this odd giant sculpture imposed itself on a scene with thousands of equally odd World Cup fans.

The crowd on the southern side of Civic Center Plaza was at least 90% orange, so when Spain scored there were just a few celebrants leaping up.

I probably didn't ride more than ten miles total all day, but I sure had fun. First on 24th Street in the Mission for Sunday Streets, and then in Civic Center for the World Cup final.

All in one room

2010-07-09T18:25:00.001-07:00

David Park's "Two Bathers"

SFMOMA has been celebrating their 75th year by showing works from their permanent collection, many not often seen.

Elmer Bischoff's "Orange Sweater"

My favorites were all hung in one room and I keep going back to them - today I took my camera.

Richard Diebenkorn's "Cityscape 1"

These three paintings were done between 1958 and 1963, years when I thought I was a painter, years when I was associated with the then California School of Fine Arts. I think I'm still stuck on the Figurative works because I wish I'd painted them.

le Tour in Japanese

2010-07-06T08:47:00.001-07:00

I found the French live broadcast of le Tour de France on UStreamLive with Japanese narration and watched the last 20 kilometers of today's race over the cobbles. What a trip!

I purposely did not subscribe to Versus live coverage because it starts at 05:30 and I didn't want to get sucked into it.

But here I am. Sucked into it.

(Thursday update: the JSport connection disappeared due to "copyright infringement.")

3 bikes on 3 days

2010-07-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Did it again: got on the Miyata on Friday, the Cannondale on Saturday, and the Bike Friday today. Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll get the Brompton out for a spin.

Saturday's ride on the Cannondale was the longest, fastest, hardest, when I decided to have one last go with my old team and joined the Velo Girls century training series opener, with the Northern Exposure Tiburon loop. I knew they would drop me before the bridge because I can't warm up for that climb that quickly anymore, but I did see them leaving the bridge north parking lot and was hoping to catch them before Mill Valley (fat chance), and so I kept riding as hard as I could. When they'd already left the first pit stop and were heading over Camino Alto before I got there, I knew the game was lost and decided I'd meet them in Tiburon via Strawberry Pt. And I beat them there by 20 minutes (they rode 22 to my 18 miles; I had fewer climbs). After taking a break, I rode north on Paradise until I met them coming in. Since I'd already taken a long break I didn't stay. I assumed they'd lap me on the return to the city. They didn't.

Coming back over the bridge, though, was worse with too many tourists on rental bikes, thanks to a sunny, nearly windless day, and I nearly got creamed more than once, including having one woman suddenly stop turned across the bike path just enough that I had to clip her as I went by, putting a bit of a hole in my left kneecap. I didn't stop. (She heard about it, expletives loud and clear!)

Today I met Judy and Theresa to ride from the Ferry Bldg. to the beach and back, after which we had lunch (tacos and beer) and then sat in the sun under Gandhi until Theresa's ferry took her back to Larkspur.

I switched my SPD pedals around between the Bike Friday and the Miyata on Friday, putting the dual-purpose pedals on my town bike (Miyata) so I can wear regular shoes when I use it to go to museums and school. But I had to take it over to Noe Valley Cyclery to have Larry loosen the Miyata's pedals because guys always put them on too tight (he says they don't really need to do that and doesn't anymore).

I'm so glad to be out riding.

(I didn't carry a camera any of those days so these are old file photos.)

Rarin' to ride

2010-07-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

This week kinda got away from me without any serious, or even unserious riding. I'll get out the next four days in a row, or die trying.

Every year I think I should get a little flag and shoot this picture. This year I ran into the little flag and the deed is done.

Twice.

Next year I'll get her to wave it.

Today is her hatch day, she's now 11 years old. Happy Birthday Sibyl.

Looking for sunflowers

2010-06-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

When the fog backed off a bit yesterday morning I drove across the hill to the Community Garden, hoping for sunflowers in bloom. There are only three planted and none are anywhere near flowering. I've made a note to go back in two weeks.

I could see the pink triangle way over on Twin Peaks, but I didn't have my long lens and decided to focus on the yellow roses instead.

After lunch I got back on my old Miyata to ride downtown to look at a couple of shows, one at the SF Camerawork gallery, the other at The Luggage Store on Market.

I took this a couple of weeks ago when Kit and I went to see the Birth of Impressionism show at the de Young. Now I have the fifer in the window from both sides.

In between these excursions I'm still poking away at my pictures from Holland and Belgium, still disappointed with most of them.

On my way to the Ethnic Dance Festival

2010-06-20T22:48:00.001-07:00

I stopped at the North Beach Festival and watched the street artists using chalk to cover oily parking slots on Union at Grant Street.

Two men were building a sand replica of Las Vegas at the same corner. One can only wonder why.

And then I met Jane for a picnic in front of the Palace of Fine Arts before going inside to the Ethnic Dance Festival. There were busloads of tourists milling about, taking pictures. We could hear the taiko drummers rehearsing. They were outstanding, as was the whole show. It always is.

Caught in the act

2010-06-13T11:28:00.001-07:00

I went out to check on the falling apart gate this morning and discovered the reason this fake turtle had been moved around in Herc's yard. He's been like this for an hour (or more).

Good ol' Hercules

2010-06-12T12:54:00.001-07:00

My yard turtle, Hercules, was sitting on this decorative stone mat. I put it in his yard yesterday, and when he discovered it this morning he went straight to it and sat with his neck outstretched, visibly thinking: "What the . . ?" (I could see the thought-bubble over his head.) I put his food dish on it and ran for the camera. And then the neighbor's dogs joined us, which didn't bother Herc at all, though he kept his eye on all of us as he went back to his breakfast.

And then the gate into his yard fell apart. Not sure how to fix it. It's always somethin'!

Goodbye dear Freds

2010-06-10T18:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I knew before I left that the Freds were unwell, just how unwell I wasn't sure. I had them euthanized on Tuesday at the vet's, where it wasn't readily apparent what ailed them. Jill came by to help me bury them yesterday. They're underneath the big turtle stepping stone in Herc's yard.

I couldn't stop crying for them on Tuesday. I spent the day slowly taking apart the aquarium and I will sell it or give it away; there will be no more turtles in my house. (The box turtle, Hercules, is still doing great in the yard.)

I've been going to All Pets Hospital on So. Van Ness ever since Dr. Frank Miller was there in the late 60s. I still had the bill from when I took George, another pond turtle, a young slider, for pneumonia. I copied it to take in and the staff were quite amazed at the prices. Dr. Miller had a column in the Chronicle, "Wonderful World of Animals" where he answered questions. He cured George, who then grew and grew for many years.

In 1970, it cost $18.00 for exam, sedation, treatment and hospitalization. You don't want to know what that would cost now. I do not begrudge them; they practice a high standard of modern medicine these days and had I wanted to spend mega-bucks, perhaps with tons of treatment I could have saved the Freds. But they're over 20 years old and that would not be right. I would have liked to know what ailed them; too costly to find out.

The thing I like most about turtles: they are perfect just as they are.

Not quite here yet

2010-06-05T15:42:00.001-07:00

It has been three days since I stepped off the plane from Amsterdam and by now I've had plenty of sleep, though often at all the wrong hours. I've taken the time to download and recover all my image files, and nothing stands out. Lots of snapshots that don't quite work for one reason or another, but at least I'll have reminders of the trip. This one is typical of the beauty of the places we went, especially when the sun was shining and the skies were blue, and of the way everyone rides a bicycle in Holland (often carrying two babies, one in front and one in back). And what looks like a very skinny building actually slants off to the side and is quite deep. This canal house is in Enkhuizen, North Holland.

The turtle problem is more serious than I thought: neither can swallow their food. They will both grab it from the basking rock, but once in the water it's dropped and not eaten (pond turtles can only swallow under water). I'm waiting to talk to Diego, maybe he can shed some light on what is wrong; if not, it's to the vet next week.

Who needs sleep, anyway?

2010-06-03T02:14:00.001-07:00

It's now 02:30, and I've only had four hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. Been up since midnight here, 09:00 there. Tossed and turned and finally gave up on sleep for today.

Jill took this with her iPhone as I was leaving for Amsterdam three weeks ago and posted it on Facebook, and then she realized we shouldn't advertise my absence. All is as I left it so the bad guys didn't find out and empty my house. Pretty poor pickin's here, anyway.

Quick note about the trip: We had an unexpected eight straight sunny, warm days of cycling in North Holland, Overijssel and the Gelderland! Rarely saw the sun in Amsterdam or Belgium, but it only actually rained on us in Bruge one morning, and then was gorgeous the rest of that day. No flat tires or other mishaps of any kind, though perhaps too much wonderful and irresistible food, and our cyclist-friendly B&B stays were all uniquely amazing. I meant to make many notes each day to write in more detail, but it quickly got away from me in the hustle-bustle and map reading and planning where to go next, etc. I don't know how Footloose Fietser did it!

I haven't downloaded all my raw photo files from the Epson yet. I reformatted a full 2GB card by mistake and will need to find some recovery software for the Mac. They were all the photos from Gent and Bruge. At least this time I realized it before putting the card back in the camera and overwriting the files, which I once did in France, losing my best of Normandy.

The Fred turtles aren't acting well and I have to go find feeder goldfish to excite them. I hate doing that. Hope Hercules has been finding wild food in his yard while I was gone, snails and slugs and such. I'll go get Sibyl from birdie camp in the evening.

It's 02:36, and I'm still wide awake. Getting hungry; it's lunchtime in Holland. Guess I'll go finish off the mac & cheese I made from a box last night, in my nearly food free house. Oh yeah, groceries and laundry and all that stuff to put away. But the bike can just sit in its big suitcase until next week! Lots more bikes in this house to use.

And I expect a few trip photos and stories might show up here over the next weeks.

It's going on 04:15 and I've had my mac & cheese and now getting sleepy again, but have to get back to classes today and do all the house chores. Oh well. I can always sleep tomorrow.

Ready, set . . .

2010-05-13T16:23:00.001-07:00

Well, this year's tulips are long gone, as are most in The Netherlands. But their latest weather report for next week is mostly sunshine. Hope it lasts.

I have Amsterdam and San Francisco weather side by side on my desktop, and they're nearly identical, including rain predicted next Monday. Weird.

I just tried to check in online and am caught in a loop between Delta and KLM, and so won't be able to do it. Also noticed my seat assignment, made over two months ago, has disappeared from the reservation. I've emailed customer support and we'll see if they respond. This is why I always get to airports early. My nerves can't take all these glitches. The volcano isn't a problem right now. Hope that lasts, too.

Sibyl is not yet aware that she'll be going to birdie camp in a few hours. I hope she has good company this time. I guess I'll go get her cage ready to go.

Toe woe

2010-05-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

This was taken the first time I dislocated my left big toe, crouching down low, waiting for the surf to hit just right. Yesterday I dislocated that toe again crouching down to take Hercules' picture.

It really hurts, and one cannot bear weight or walk, not to mention turn pedals. Five days before the trip. Not good.

The offending joint did not get better last night and I spent the wee hours reading my travel insurance (which, by the way, I blame for the mishap---when I don't buy insurance, I don't have a problem). I had to wait until 9:00 for the podiatrist's office to open, and it was looking pretty grim for an overseas cycling trip. I wasn't able to walk, except on the outer edge of my foot. I took a shower and got dressed in case I was told to come right in ("dislocation" wins an emergency spot).

I ate breakfast, and then I tried putting my foot straight down---and it didn't hurt. I tried walking normally---and it still didn't hurt. Problem solved. I can walk and run and put shoes on and do anything except crouch down low with my left foot behind me, big toe joint hyperextended.

So by the time I called it was no longer dislocated, but they told me to come in. The podiatrist, Noel O'Brien, (also an avid cyclist) thinks I had partial dislocations from hyperextension, and arthritic bone spurs may be involved (all of which was my guess, too). Went for weight-bearing x-rays to confirm. He couldn't elicit any discomfort with poking and stretching my joint every which way, so it's definitely the deep crouch maneuver setting things awry, without actually doing any serious damage. He thinks I'll be just fine, especially wearing cycling shoes. Will talk more tomorrow after he gets the x-ray results.

(P.S. No pathology other than a touch of arthritis, which is asymptomatic. The partial dislocations were most likely due to my loose ligaments, which were also responsible for a tibial plateau fracture in 1979, when my femur exploded it into a zillion pieces because my knee was hyperextended while landing on the dock jumping from a sailboat.)

Now all I have to worry about is a volcano in Iceland.

Scrubbing floors

2010-05-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

I was going to weed Hercules' yard this morning but it rained last night and it's too wet. The other item on my must-do list was washing & waxing my kitchen and bathroom floors. I used Spic 'n Span, forgetting that the wax would then turn sudsy, and so now I've rinsed the kitchen floor and will wait for it to dry a second time before laying down the wax. My kitchen has the world's ugliest floor, made from squares of rotten hamburger-colored linoleum that are buckled and dented; the bathroom is at least tile, though not much nicer. I hate housework.
What I really want to do is putter around with my packed panniers, see if what I decided to take is really what I want to wear every day, day after day. It never is. And now the volcano in Iceland is disrupting air travel again.

Later: I did weed in the yard, and I finally found Hercules, still alive and living on the bounty in his yard, snails and slugs, I guess. I brought him in to weigh and then tried to take a good picture of him up close. Stooping low and bending my left big toe so severely dislocated it again (happened when I waited for a shot of high surf at Ft. Point 6 weeks ago). I'm hoping it will "pop" back in place, otherwise I have to either go to the E.R., or a podiatrist. I'll wait 'til tomorrow; it isn't blue.

The picture wasn't worth it.

All better

2010-04-30T17:32:00.001-07:00

By Thursday I wasn't blowing my nose or coughing, and so I went to my afternoon class. I can still hear a huskiness but that cold was history after three days of laying low. I still have four DVDs and a novel from the library that I now won't get to watch or read. Better to be well.

After class yesterday I went to the de Young to catch the Amish quilt exhibit, and glad I did, they're wonderful.

Today I repacked everything and got it all in, with a pinch of room to spare. I won't take my heavy jersey and wind tights, after all; they take way too much room and I can get warm with layers---as in everything I'm bringing worn all at once---instead.

Footloose Fietser is already in the Hoge Veluwe, savoring all the Van Gogh's at the Kroller Muller, and I'm pestering him with questions: I want DETAILS (but mostly about biking stuff).

Spring blahs

2010-04-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have nothing much to say these days. I'm either reading or watching DVDs. My Mac is in the shop getting new fans, taking longer than expected because it turned out to be the little fan in the graphics card making all the noise, and they had to order it. But I'll be getting a better graphics card on my 3-year warranty, which expires in July. That sucker weighs 42 lbs. and not easy to take in. Anyway, this old PC drives me crazy to use, and I can't work images on it at all.

Word just in from Footloose Fietser from Amsterdam: come on over, the weather's fine.

I came down with a head cold on Sunday and that's the big reason I'm watching old movies. I want to get over this quickly so I'm laying low.

Worry, worry

2010-04-21T18:01:00.001-07:00

Ash clouds over Europe. Will Footloose Fietser get off the ground for Amsterdam later this week? We can only all cross our fingers and toes that our cycling vacations go off as planned. As usual, I've already packed my panniers many weeks too soon, but I need to know what will fit in two tiny panniers and a rack trunk.

Yesterday, I took my Mac to get new fans before the warranty expires and it'll be gone longer than I expected. I'm using my old PC, which I keep viable just for this sort of thing. I can't process any files from my new camera. The scene above is from the east bay, taken several years ago. If you click to enlarge it you can see the Cinderella riders off in the distance.

Not much else going on, just the usual classes and riding to & fro. I did some envelope stuffing at the Bicycle Coalition's new offices after class today.

Interiors

2010-04-08T23:11:00.001-07:00

One last dog

2010-04-05T08:35:00.001-07:00

Al Ross - Doggie Diner founder - Dies

Read all about how he started this restaurant for "weiner-dogs" in Oakland in 1948. Click on the link above to the story in the SF Chronicle. Here's an excerpt:

The eateries with their vinyl stools at Formica tables, were the first fast-food restaurants after World War II, uniquely fashioned for the masses to munch hot dogs and hamburgers on the run.

The proprietor was a bit of a showman, too. He would buy the prize bull at the rodeo at the Cow Palace [remember those?] every year and take it around in a trailer. The champion bull would then become the prime ingredient in Doggie Diner dogs, according to his son.

R.I.P. He was 93.

Looking for my Loctite

2010-04-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

I spent all of this rainy Sunday, a holiday Sunday, going through this bin and that drawer, and under the sink, and in the pantry, and everywhere I put tools . . . and I never did find the blue Loctite. But I refined what I'm taking to Holland and how to stow it in zip-space. The trip is far enough away that I will have forgotten where I stowed this, and stashed that, and I'll have to do it over again (probably more than once), and then on the trip when it is raining and I have a flat tire or other mechanical challenge, yes, then I will have to remember the last place I stowed that extra rack bolt, or battery charger, or secret stash of whatever.

I love totally wasted days like this, just puttering around and poking through my stuff.

And then I started working on the tulip-windmill files. The back field was planted with white, though the major display was all red.

Every spring

2010-03-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Every year I go back to the Dutch windmill when the tulips are in bloom, hoping to take more or less this same shot, only better.

When I realized this morning that I was going to miss them if I didn't get over there, rain or shine, I got my act together and did make it, though not by bicycle. I took both cameras and was ready to lay on wet ground if need be.

The tulips were mostly red this year, along with the yellow poppies. But none near the paths - I don't know if they didn't come up, or if people had pulled them out - and so I couldn't get that angle.

And nothing I did today was worth keeping, though I do like this one of a man eating his lunch under an umbrella.

More of that

2010-03-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Friday, while riding around town, I stopped for my usual El Toro Super Vegetarian Taco on Valencia and remembered I hadn't been into nearby Clarion Alley to check for new murals for a while. This one is not to my liking, but the girl sitting in the sun listening to her music was a nice touch.

Before that I'd trudged up Nob Hill to find the sculpture Hearts that are supposed to be in Huntington Park, but there were none. Perhaps when the newspaper article stated "will be on display" they meant eventually, like sometime between now and Labor Day, when they'll be auctioned off for charities. I took pictures of the trees in bloom, but didn't quite get anything worth working on (boring). A couple were planting Easter eggs in the trees and flowerbeds and said the kids were on their way, which seemed an odd time for it - I think Easter is over a week away.

Synaptic slippage

2010-03-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

Today I took one of my Photoshop texts into the other room, sat down in my easy chair, opened it up and started to read about Layers.

Alpha channels: An alpha channel is effectively the same thing as a mask channel and if you choose Select - Save Selection, you can save any selection as a new alpha channel; these are stored by default in numerical sequence below the main color channels. Just like normal color channels, an alpha channel can contain up to 256 shades of gray in 8-bits per channel mode or up to 32,000 shades of gray in 16-bits per channel mode.

Most of it is worse than that, think IRS instructions. Horrors! Surely, this is easier done than said. I was seriously dizzy within about three pages of this. Vertigo. I had to stop and go do some retail therapy at Ross and Safeway. Bought new jeans and lots of comfort food.

And then I reworked this old image from a bike ride down the coast with Judy several years ago. I like this giant artichoke in Castroville, another example of a good pop culture sign.

Tired feet

2010-03-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I made it to all seven museums today (listed yesterday). Six were within a block or two of each other, close by SFMOMA.

My favorite was the Cartoon Museum, though the Shanghai exhibit at the Asian was stunning and I'll go back to look at it more closely. I always worry about my bike around Civic Center - too many bums hanging out by the bike racks - and it was the first on my list so I didn't stay very long.

My feet and my eyes are very tired. And none of my pictures interest me at all. I'll look at them again another day. I think today was mostly about looking without seeing. There are some left-over ghosts, images to haunt and perhaps pull me back . . .

Museum dayze

2010-03-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I went to the San Jose Museum of Art with Kit and Beverly, and when I took pictures an officious young man told me no, not in the galleries. Two years ago when I was there with my big camera I took tons of pictures and no one said anything. I felt guilty, but I took this shot with my little camera anyway. The thing I really love about this museum is the way the floors melt into the walls and it all glows, even in low light.

Tomorrow, it is my plan to take advantage of a reciprocal 7-museum free-admission day with my SFMOMA card. I will start early and hit the Asian-Cartoon-Contemporary Jewish-African Diaspora-Crafts & Folk Art-SF Camerawork-Yerba Buena Center museums. I'll be riding my old town bike and it will be a blast, crowds and all.

Riding to Cuba (ha!)

2010-03-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Dianna and I rode from Woodacre through Samuel P. Taylor Park and over Platform Bridge Road and back. Once again, I thought I'd probably forgotten to beep my car locked after riding off, and worried a bit that her wallet might be gone when we got back, but all was as we left it - and my car was indeed unlocked.

Before Dianna moved to Vancouver we used to ride in West Marin. Afterward, on the way home, we'd stop at the San Rafael Goodwill and then eat lunch in the Cuban restaurant across the street; and that was our plan yesterday, too. We thought we'd miss the lunch crowd by the time we got back at 1:30. But, no, it was still very crowded.

A friendly young man took our order in line and we got our number and took a seat in front of this unexpected, live-feed video. We imagined we were looking at live shots from Havana, once we figured out that it wasn't being filmed where we were.

Our food arrived quickly and was as delicious as we'd remembered it. The crowd kept coming, lined up out to the street.

But after 2:00, the crowd finally thinned out. The friendly guy picked up our empty plates and we asked where the camera was in the live feed: it was from a nearby restaurant. He said something about the restaurant being filmed for some news show, but we didn't see that happen.

When I got home I looked up where we'd been, Sol Food, and it wasn't quite Cuba, it was actually Puerto Rico. Cuban Mambo's Cafe was next door. (Though a glance at reviews is confusing, maybe they're both PR, maybe M's is closed. But check out Sol Food's Web site; it's a hoot.)

Dianna scored two dresses and I got a book at Goodwill.

Our kind of ride.

Market Street lamp post, store front mural & man walking

2010-03-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Enough dogs, already

2010-03-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Jane went with me to get turtle chow ingredients at the East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, and on the way there we detoured over to Treasure Island where I'd learned, thanks to Jill's Facebook contributors, that three (3) Doggie Diner heads were being kept on a trailer. We went as far east as you can drive on the island: no heads. I was, however, determined to find them and kept systematically looking and was finally rewarded. Unfortunately, they're being kept next to a rather ugly building and at that time of day one head was in shadow.

A man told us that the heads were rented out for various events and parties.

If you're ever lucky enough to see them go by on the road they'll stop you in your tracks; they are awesome. I saw them pass by in Dogpatch a year or so ago.

Speaking of lost local cultural icons: I wish they had saved Mr. Peanut. He lit up Highway 101 on the way into the city, winking and raising his cane in salute. And the Hamm's Beer glass atop a building on 15th Street, filling and emptying, too. They don't make signs like they used to, that's for sure.

Riding to the dog

2010-03-06T17:00:00.001-08:00

I met Judy this morning for a ride around the city, which is, I swear, 99.9% up hill.

We rode from civic center to the V.A. hospital near Land's End so she could show me the place she works these days (a terrible trailer), after which she took me on some back roads inside Ft. Miley to an old building once used to watch the bay entrance for incoming ships, and then on to the USS. San Francisco monument about the Battle of Guadalcanal. As we left the headlands, enjoying the swooping downhill run around the Cliff House, it was still overcast and gray, but when we turned east up Sloat the sun came back out---and it's a slight grade, up and up, until we were climbing through St. Francis Woods and over Twin Peaks. Yes, then there's another swooping downhill to the Mission, but I still swear, this route is 99.9% up hill. Takes forever.

Of course we stop every few miles for one thing or another, like me taking this picture of the "cultural icon," if not quite landmark, Doggie Diner dachschund. I'm so glad they restored and saved at least this one giant head and keep it on display, albeit way out in the Sunset.

The poppies are already blooming on Twin Peaks. Yes. Spring is nearly here.

Avoidance

2010-03-05T12:35:00.001-08:00

Walking through the northwest corner of Golden Gate Park (near Stanyan) on Wednesday, I saw this white-bearded man with his shirt off drinking from a bagged bottle, sitting in the only spot of sun between rain showers; he's drying his clothes on the tree behind him.

Now I really need to hit the books and learn how to do the technical stuff better. I've spent the morning puttering around, not quite studying, but edging in that direction.

. . . after lunch I will start. Really.

The daffodils have crumpled but I used them for one last go at the small dogs. Now they're done for sure.

Daffodils & Small Dogs

2010-03-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

I just added 8GB of memory to my Mac, which I bought from Small Dog in Vermont. They sent the two small dogs with it.

(Not sure why I decided to photograph blindingly bright, luminescent daffodils in front of my monitor. I have another shot, which, as I kept trying to get it right, has an image within an image within an image---like mirrors---but this is the sharpest of the small dogs on top of my monitor.)

My next to last class was today. The sun was shining, though cold enough to chill my face and make me wish I'd worn a mask riding my bike across town. I'll have about six weeks free to divide between sitting here to work on images and the usual spring cleaning. I already started weeding Hercules' yard and he hasn't made his post-hibernation appearance yet. I need to make fresh turtle chow, which means making a trip to the East Bay Vivarium for some of the ingredients (Purina Trout Chow). It takes two days to make.

And then there's the bike riding. I'm still going on the Velo Girls' Cinderella training rides, riding sweep. This year I'm determined to get more rides going with the Bike Friday club. I've been getting really lazy and slow just riding by myself.

Spring is just around the corner. What a mild winter we've had.

There's always one

2010-02-27T11:09:00.001-08:00

. . . cherry blossom out of focus.

I just discovered a kindred soul about to take his Bike Friday Tikit to the Netherlands, though he'll be there sooner than Judy and me. But he has a blog, footloose fietser, dedicated to planning and packing for a six-week trip, which I've added to my list of blogs to follow - and I hope he'll post from the saddle too, once he gets going.

Sea turtles and all that jazz

2010-02-24T20:12:00.001-08:00

I sat down in my easy chair to study my camera manual after dinner, but somehow I never get very far before I pick up the camera and without getting out of the chair, start playing around with it. I was experimenting with macro and manual focus, using my favorite stuffed turtle. And then, of course, I have to download the files and start learning more how-to stuff on the computer. I don't get very far with that either, but it's fun. (These were taken at 1/15 sec. by the dim light of a 40 watt floor lamp next to my chair. This little camera is really something in low light.)

I hardly ever listen to my own CDs, rather I tune in to KCSM and let them choose. They do a good job, especially this time of day. Mellow. Laid back. In fact, I'm hearing Miles as I write this.

Sunday stripping

2010-02-21T17:19:00.001-08:00

Amaryllis at Kit's

A good rainy day project: figuring out how to strip my exif data from files (for commercial use), leaving everything else intact. After that I opened up my computer and vacuumed out some dust balls, pulled out the memory platforms and did research for adding lots more, plus a new operating system.

I stripped and remade my bed and sorted laundry for when I hit the laundromat on Tuesday. And then I cleaned the filter in my turtles' tank, boiled eggs and made curried egg salad for sandwiches, researched a trip to the Getty Museum and Walt Disney Hall in L.A., wrote to some friends, played with my parrot, yada yada yah.

Now I guess I'll make some dinner, put my feet up in the other room instead of my office and watch something on TV.

Things I saw today

2010-02-17T20:23:00.001-08:00

As I rode along the Embarcadero the fog still covered the bay, hiding the bridge from view. I was on my way to Jackson Square to have Les cut my hair, but I was early so I stopped in Portsmouth Square.

I hadn't seen this small bronze replica of the Goddess of Democracy before today. In 1989, I was riding my bike down the California coast and camping in the mountains behind Santa Barbara during the Tienanmen Square protest, but stayed aware of it, and somehow saw the pictures coming out of China, including this Goddess, originally made by art students with foam and papier-mache over a metal armature.

Gung hei! Fat choi! Les has put out the Year of the Tiger.

I didn't know I'd done a self portrait until I processed these. And without my glasses on I also didn't know I was shooting at 1/8 sec., and am surprised they didn't have a lot of motion. It makes me so mad that I can't see the small print on my camera back!

That is the sweetest face ever.

The sculptors of Ugly have struck again. This new giant is in the park on Octavia and Linden. She appears to be balancing a stone on her forehead. I wonder if it was meant to be there or if someone managed to throw it up the 30-40 ft. The last time this sort of thing appeared, it was on the waterfront - see my 2006 post, "Really ugly, HUGE sculptures."

I also rode my bike from the bay to the ocean, straight across the width of the city, more or less. I wanted to see if the tulips were coming up at the windmill. They aren't budding, but there is promise of things to come. There were lots of cars in the park with people out enjoying the warm spring day. I ate my sandwich and then rode back to USF for my afternoon class. And then, on my way to the symphony box office to exchange tickets, I came across the ugly sculpture, which definitely wrapped up the day of seeing both weird and wonderful things.

Pink flowers

2010-02-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Everywhere, fluffy pink flowers. I've always called them cherry blossoms but no cherries ever appear---or any other fruit. I don't know what they are for sure. Oh, but they are so pretty.