Maryhill Overlook, Axonometric Section

Maryhill Interpretive Overlook (1998) designed by Allied Works Architecture.

Flower

Flashback - One Saturday Afternoon, Medjool - 2008

Blog Templates

Messing around with templates can take up a surprisingly awful amount of time.

Okay, so...

... in the meta-post prior to this one, I mused about blogging here more frequently, and it seems like that hasn't been the case. Actually, I have been writing quite a bit, but I have continued to do so offline, as well as on a new experimental tumblog on tumblr. The interface is a lot simpler than blogger, and the CSSs they use a lot more cutesy and fashion forward I would say. The whole situation is still in flux as I equivocate about where to post things, how best they get linked together, and what sort of content I want to be putting out there. As I begin to grow more cynical about the economic situation, and the state of world affairs, I'm started to think to myself, "who give a fuck?" We're neither guaranteed nor promised anything in this world, so might as well be true to yourself, sort out what you love to do, and just put it out there. All that is very exciting and scary at the same moment.

Posting about posting

I've been following a few thought lines recently on the internet which touch upon how social networking sites like Facebook & Twitter have transformed the internet, specifically with respect to personal blogs.  If you're provided with a single, centralized place to interact with the people you know, provide updates to your life in various formats, then why go through the trouble to set up an independent place on the web with all the hassle of customizing, and the labor of updating it on a regular basis?  

In my own experience, since I've joined Facebook, I've made very little effort to post anything on this blog, which at one time I used to document my own personal thoughts and significant events, not so much  for anyone else, but primarily for my own amusement.  

Now, in addition to regularly signing in to Facebook, I've also been experimenting with using several different journaling, or quick thought-capture apps, so most of what I have been recording has been piling up on my computer, instead of  appearing in this space.  As such, what has always been for me an introspective process, has become so once again.  But after considering the discussion mentioned above, I realized that what I appreciate most about personal blogs is the intermittent dialogue generated by posting.  

Therefore, in the very near future, I think I may, slowly, and not without some resistance produced by in fact living life, and yet naturally under some consternation arising from potentially missing self-imposed targets, endeavor to begin again, quietly, deliberately, to post.

MobileMe, blah!

Okay, so in April I finally succumbed to my desire to purchase a new computer, and settled on a Macbook.  It's my first Apple computer, and I suppose I am not part of that statistic of folks who migrated over from PCs due to the "halo effect" of owning an iPod.  Although I consider myself a competent computer user, I am by no means a fanatick, nor do I spend all my time ass-deep in code and whatnot.  As such, I am completely enamored with the design of the Apple OS and its integrated programs.  While I realize it does not allow the same amount of personal control over the operating environment, it provides the freedom I need to work and accomplish the tasks that I care about, like email, websurfting, blogging, etc.  Speaking of blogging, the with the recent switch from .mac to MobileMe, I've had a hell of a time trying to upgrade the practice blog I have been working on in iWeb.  I have been experimenting since purchasing a .mac membership when I bought my computer, and it has a lot of great features to still explore, (what I love most is, again, the integration among all the different programs, making it ridiculously easy to create & post content).  I hope that Apple gets their collective shit together soon, and resolves all the issues they created when they decided to release the iPhone 3g, upgrade existing iPhone users to 2.0, AND transition to .mac to MobileMe all on the same day!  

Spring in SF

Good times...

A classic...

In case you missed it way back.

Walking along Land's End

It amazes me that all this is a ten minute drive from my place in the Haight. This past Saturday, Scott and I made a short hike along Land's End to get away from the urban and reconnect a bit with the primordial. It was a vacation without really leaving the city, and much needed.

States Visited Update

Okay, so until I get around to posting pics of what I've been up to the past few weeks. Here's a map of the US states I've visited so far.

Sunday champagne brunch at Jim & Aaron's

Quiche. How gay is that? And I made it! (Okay, Scott helped out a lot).


Party in motion.


The amazing view.





Friends.

Flashback: August 7, 2004, 1:00AM

John just sent me this picture taken way back when during one of his summer parties at his old place on Robert Street. What a crazy time that was! Everyone here was still in school at TSA at the time of the photo. I love how several things are happening at once in this picture, and that I'm the only one aware that a photo is being taken (and maybe Al, who is mostly out of the shot). Of course, we are all in various states of inebriation; the natural state of being during the summer in New Orleans.

FYI, inter alia

When you see someone wearing an item of clothing that has a place name on it, resist the urge to ask them if they are from that place. Chances are, they are NOT.

And one more thing, do everyone a favor and wash your stank ass before you go out in the morning. Nobody needs to smell your two-day crotch rot on the way to work; I don't care how cute you are.

So I just got back from Ross (Dress for Less!) over on Potrero Hill, where I returned a few items of clothing I bought for interviews, but realized this morning I will never wear. Usually, when I buy something it stays bought. I'm not one of those people who'll pick something up just in case, availing myself of the generous return/exchange policy. My mom shops that way, however, which leads me to believe it is an effective method, particularly if you are concerned about saving money in the long run. I hate to shop, so the idea of returning something is just dragging out the process. I'm definitely a "Get in, get out. Yeah, that looks good enough" type of shopper.

I'm excited today because I've located a Coinstar machine and I'll be able to exchange all the coinage I've been accruing since I moved here that has been cluttering up the desktop in my bedroom, thus screwing with my OCD desire for Minimalism. (Quick! Bettina & Max are coming! Clear! Clear! Clear!) I plan to redeem my coins for credit at iTunes, since I buy stuff there all the time anyway, and I get 100% of the value. New music, yay!

Something cool in New Orleans

Of course, after I move away, cool contemporary architecture stuff starts to happen in New Orleans. If you happen to be there this week, and like architecture stuff, you should check out this city-wide installation.

Makes me wanna dirty the carpet....

Over the weekend, Sonoma County

I spent the last two days amid incredible natural beauty of Sonoma County with my friend Scott. Saturday morning we drove across the Golden Gate and up the 101 to Guerneville, a very friendly resort town on the Russian River.

The first image is from a hike through Armstrong State Park. Before trekking off into the woods, Scott and I had a couple sandwiches from the Safeway deli back in Guerneville. We also opened a bag of Tuscan Three Cheese Kettle chips, the latest of my new favorite flavors, as I've been making my way through the entire line of ridiculously yummy gourmet potato chips. It's up there with the Spicy Thai and Honey Dijon. I would've taken more pics in the woods, but my camera was not dealing well with the low-light under the thick Redwood canopy. Also, it was a rather relaxing walk that became more about contemplating and experiencing the natural beauty around us, rather than trying to capture images of it; most of the time Scott and I didn't really talk, but every now and then would make a comment about this or that tree or view we saw or sound we heard. The space of the forest had a very solemn effect, and encouraged the sort of introspective, whispered conversation appropriate to a cathedral.

The next day we drove back from Guerneville along the coast, pulling off at one of many amazing vistas of the Pacific Ocean; I can't quite remember the name, but I feel like it was something about a schoolhouse. Anyway, I snapped a few more photos before my camera went dead, including that last one of Scott wearing a fleece and looking out to sea which to me is very Nautica.

This is where i work...

My desk is in the very front of this photo, on the right. I like my spot; it's closest to the street, and thus to all the homeless people screaming.

Crazy talk

The denizens of the Mission District are an eclectic bunch. It's a very "urban, gritty , colorful" kind of neighborhood, ie it's mostly poor, black and hispanic people. Also, because this is SF, Asians, too. Basically, not a lot of white people, which is fine by me, being from the Chocolate City myself. Anyway, it's an endless carnival of humanity, making for an entertaining walk each morning to work. (Yes, I am now gainfully employed if you didn't know. I am sorry if I have been out of touch with some of y'all, but hey I been busy.)

So this morning I hear a deranged homeless woman talking to herself: "He makes me look like a lunatic in front of the whole world!"


It was very unclear who "he" was, but I just love random hyperbole, and really appreciated her use of the word lunatic.