For Sale! Yes I have the bumper!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The New De Young
I don't like the new De Young.
In fact I'm pretty upset about the whole business. All those great City Beautiful inspired public-palaces are gone. There is no more alligator pit in the Steinhart Aquarium. There is no fancy marble, or gilt paint on the iron work. It's all gone.
Beyond the loss of a historical resource, beyond the loss of craftmanship that cannot be regained, it is to me a loss of ideology.
Those museums were old school. Seriously old school. Science and the arts weren't interactive. They were lofty relics stored in dimly lit halls behind glass. Somber, imposing, inscrutable. That's what I loved about those places. I can't really get into the whole new-science, info-tainment, facts-delivered-by-handpuppet places that seem to have swept over the museum scene. I'm sure there are educators who'll tell me that this method is more effective in teaching facts to ADD addled children, but will it make them more curious about the world? I don't know. I don't think so.
As a kid those palaces instilled in me that science was important, that it was mysterious. Why else would there be such a big fancy building to house it all in? You had to meditate on what was in those dusty diaramas to make sense of it. And more often than not, you couldn't make sense of it. Not completely, because the whole story wasn't told. It wasn't holistic. A friend of mine once told me that good art leaves you with more questions than it answers, and I felt that way about those museums in Golden Gate Park. They gave you the briefest taste that the world was a very interesting place.
And if they ever do anything to the Exporitorium I'll bite somebody.
In fact I'm pretty upset about the whole business. All those great City Beautiful inspired public-palaces are gone. There is no more alligator pit in the Steinhart Aquarium. There is no fancy marble, or gilt paint on the iron work. It's all gone.
Beyond the loss of a historical resource, beyond the loss of craftmanship that cannot be regained, it is to me a loss of ideology.
Those museums were old school. Seriously old school. Science and the arts weren't interactive. They were lofty relics stored in dimly lit halls behind glass. Somber, imposing, inscrutable. That's what I loved about those places. I can't really get into the whole new-science, info-tainment, facts-delivered-by-handpuppet places that seem to have swept over the museum scene. I'm sure there are educators who'll tell me that this method is more effective in teaching facts to ADD addled children, but will it make them more curious about the world? I don't know. I don't think so.
As a kid those palaces instilled in me that science was important, that it was mysterious. Why else would there be such a big fancy building to house it all in? You had to meditate on what was in those dusty diaramas to make sense of it. And more often than not, you couldn't make sense of it. Not completely, because the whole story wasn't told. It wasn't holistic. A friend of mine once told me that good art leaves you with more questions than it answers, and I felt that way about those museums in Golden Gate Park. They gave you the briefest taste that the world was a very interesting place.
And if they ever do anything to the Exporitorium I'll bite somebody.
Edith Saved?
Plans were afoot to decommission and dismantle edith at the end of October. Those plans have been put on hold. Gary and I think, with a little application of money (>$200) and several weekends of light work we could stabilize her decline and keep her 'seaworthy' or at least river-worthy for months, if not years to come. We've currently decided that is the best course of action.
We'll see if we feel the same way during the depths of winter.
Soon to follow, more river barge pictures, taken this very morning. All I'll say is that I was on the water for work, and it was glorious.
We'll see if we feel the same way during the depths of winter.
Soon to follow, more river barge pictures, taken this very morning. All I'll say is that I was on the water for work, and it was glorious.
Changes
All my little plans run amok in the streets, throwing stones and banging on newspaper machines.
Earlier I noted that I would be transfering to Oakland on November 1st, and moving to SF sometime around the new year. Well, not anymore folks. At least not this week.
Staffing at the Oakland office went through some unforseen hiccups and I volunteered to setup there for the short term until things settled down again. Of course the short term will probably take me until Nov 1st, then I'll be here officially.
As far as moving goes, I may need to put that off for a bit, as now that my commute has started I need a good reliable car soon. And that will soak up a lot of my 'moving' money. That said, my lovely truck and BMW are going up for sale at bargain prices for the discerning collector. Contact me if you are interested.
In addition to the location change I've been given some complex jobs with very short deadlines. So that's why I'm sitting in a sweltering office at 6:30 on thursday, when I should be having dinner with Meredith. Sigh. And I'll be here a while yet.
I'll spare you the promise to update my blog more often, but I won't spare you a picture of my cat looking cute.
Earlier I noted that I would be transfering to Oakland on November 1st, and moving to SF sometime around the new year. Well, not anymore folks. At least not this week.
Staffing at the Oakland office went through some unforseen hiccups and I volunteered to setup there for the short term until things settled down again. Of course the short term will probably take me until Nov 1st, then I'll be here officially.
As far as moving goes, I may need to put that off for a bit, as now that my commute has started I need a good reliable car soon. And that will soak up a lot of my 'moving' money. That said, my lovely truck and BMW are going up for sale at bargain prices for the discerning collector. Contact me if you are interested.
In addition to the location change I've been given some complex jobs with very short deadlines. So that's why I'm sitting in a sweltering office at 6:30 on thursday, when I should be having dinner with Meredith. Sigh. And I'll be here a while yet.
I'll spare you the promise to update my blog more often, but I won't spare you a picture of my cat looking cute.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Soul Sucker
The weather has cooled down, and I see kids trudging to school when I go to work in the mornings. Fall is nearly upon us (yay!) and I've rediscovered video games. This happens nearly every year. When back to school sales start, I suddenly get the urge to see what new and exciting games have come out. It must be a ingrained habit for procrastination from going to college. There's no better way to procrastinate than geeking out with a good game...unless it's cleaning house.
So earlier this week I bought World of Warcraft because I kept hearing such good things about it. I confess I was quite a D&D/Middle Earth geek as a kid, and I still secretly enjoy that whole genre of game. The great thing about WoW is that it's basically online-digital-real-time D&D. Sure there are differences, but it scratches that same mental/emotional itch. Now my days of working late hours and optimizing my network and file systems are past, it's all about running around in the forest and bashing creatures on the head.
So earlier this week I bought World of Warcraft because I kept hearing such good things about it. I confess I was quite a D&D/Middle Earth geek as a kid, and I still secretly enjoy that whole genre of game. The great thing about WoW is that it's basically online-digital-real-time D&D. Sure there are differences, but it scratches that same mental/emotional itch. Now my days of working late hours and optimizing my network and file systems are past, it's all about running around in the forest and bashing creatures on the head.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
San Francisco Love Vacation
A couple of weeks ago, Meredith's ex-mother-in-law watched M's kids for the weekend so we could get out of town. We both needed a break from our routine, and a mini-vacation was the perfect thing. Since we didn't have much time and Meredith has just begun exploring San Francisco, we thought it would make lots of sense to get a hotel room in the city and wander around all weekend.
Photos first then details.
Photos first then details.
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