FauxCation

In the middle of February Patricia and I went on a FauxCation. We knew we couldn't get away for any period of time, but thought we might enjoy some time off while the younglins were in school. Add to that a brilliant showing by my inlaws offering to take two sick girls all day and night Friday and we even managed to stay in a hotel one night.

It was quite relaxing. During our Friday and Saturday we teamed up with Patricia's sister and her husband for a jaunt into San Francisco. It's a city that we've been to many, many times. This time though, we decided to go as tourists and see what oddities we could find.


First was a trip to the Exploratorium at The Palace of Fine Arts.
We pushed grade school kids on field trips aside and tried our hands at all the science exhibits they had to offer. Then I saw this..



Next we took a drive down Lombard street. Apparently my sister-in-law had never done that, as she was hanging out the window of the car while we were driving down Lombard street yelling to Patricia to slow down so she could get a picture. This aroused the tourist who then started taking pictures of us. Her husband responded to this by sticking his head out the window and yelled to the onlookers that we were locals and that everything was cool.


After we all regained our composure... we found our selves here: Coit Tower.



The view was impressive.


Out front is Christopher Columbus. See that in his left hand? Some local decided that Columbus needed a Diet Coke. Unopened. After his voyage I'm sure he appreciated it.



The nastiest looking but best tasting, raw, gluten-free, vegan stack food you can over pay for at Whole Foods. Yum...


Kale Kruch was good, but real food was needed too. Pub Grub. Fish & Chips, Mushy Peas, Boston Bibb Salad, and IPA. Lunch is done!



We then padded down to Ghirardelli Square for something sweet. While browsing through toys in a shop I met a die-hard Star Wars fan. She looked at me and said, "I'd like to show you something special" This is was I got!



Those are light saber tattoos. She claims the experience was extremely painful and unpleasant. I can only imagine. Another fantastic quote from Star-Wars girl, "My living room is done in Star Wars, Batman and leopard print. The boyfriend has to adjust." Freaking Awesome.

We started Saturday with a 2 1/2 hour tour of AT&T park. I have to say, I wouldn't know a baseball stat if in got in bed with me, but I completely enjoyed the tour. My brother in law on the other hand, could have given the tour himself and was extremely happy with our choice of venues for the morning!

Hanging in the Press Box.



Chilling on the field.


And my personal favorite. A lonely Cubs clock hanging in the Giants club house. Slowly ticking away it's time until another chance for a pennant comes its way...



After that we went to pier 39. It was pigeon kicking season and were in top shape. Seriously. The sheer number of pigeons was insane. People were screaming all around us and a unlucky patron eating her clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl had a little "extra flavoring" from one of the flying beasties. I sympathized with her as I giggled and covered my bowl with my hand...

The last picture I leave you with is a crowd surrounding a local band, belting our their odd SF funky sound while sporty that musical instrument of legend. The Keytar!

The Super Bowl

Fill it with chips and you've got your own perfect party...

Skinny Jeans

When you say:


I see this:


I but mostly this:



Skinny Jeans. I doubt the trend will last past the overindulgence of the holiday. Thank heavens for little blessings!

Children & Light Boxes

What happens when my five year old gets a hold of my light box.

"Daddy can I take some pictures too?"

"uh...What do you want to take pictures of?"

"Princess?"

"Of course." Click



"What else do you have?"

"That, I can work with!"

Uselessness

As a point of clarification, I believe that more people read this blog on OS X than any other OS. Is that irony or just coincidence? Either way, kinda funny...

Hammer Time

You will not find this procedure in the manual for the $10,000 Quantum Superloader that up until recently resided in one of the racks of our server room. That doesn't mean it is not an effective means of extraction when the bolt has been stripped and your hand will not fit into the space to grip it. Plus hammers bring with them their own credence and understanding.

A hammer rarely says, "I'm here to negotiate a truce." Even technology can understand that sort of persuasion.

The Quantum Superloader, put up very little fight...

Lazy Thursday Blues: Caption 30

I used to do these every Thursday. Anyone still here who remembers them? Here are a couple to get you started...

It is strong like the bond between man and lobster...

I don't know how it started but it end with the phrase, "Hold my beer and check this out..."

Links:

Garfield Minus Garfield A bit strange and almost completely useless.

Savage Chickens. Do yourself a favor and check it out...

Beware The Walrus

I cannot begin to imagine that this sign is legit. Regardless it makes me laugh.


Of course I'm not taking any chances, and have begun to prepare for the invasion...

I Can Fix It...

Fixing Patricia's flat iron. Little was accomplished besides being positive that it is now, not functional...

What's On Your Desk?

I just turned around and snapped this shot

2- Full height, 8 platter, 5 1/4 SCSI drives (1 gig each)
1- New Pentium Pro Processor date stamped '94




So... What's on yours?

Geeky Valentines Day 2011

Hats

Soo... Where to begin. Oh! I know. I'm furious!! Yeah, that's a good place to start.

I only get my hair cut every two to three months. I just don't like the hassle of going and getting the cut, dealing with all the itchy clothes and making small talk. Monday night I stopped by the local Great Clips to get a hair cut. It had been over three months and I was beginning to look silly. I've been going here for about five years now. There has been the occasional bad cut, but mostly it's been fine. I sit down, tell them what I want and I usually come out feeling better about myself. I then spend the next week or so wondering what took me so long to go.

This time, not so much. As my facebook update put it...

"Was just snatched bald by the woman at great clips. Plus I had to pay her for the insult. I'm so mad I'm shaking!"

It's a long a rather boring story so I'll skip the finer details. The long and the short of it is, I came in long and left exceeding short. I'm vain, and for me my hair is the one thing I feel good about. I don't dress in style or exactly have a trim figure. So for me my hair was my 'thing'. Now that I've been shaved like a boot camp enlistee, I'm a little off my game.

Which brings me to the point of the post. Hats. For the next few weeks I'll be wearing a lot of them. I thought I'd share some of my rather eclectic gathering of head wear.


The 30's style English Cap. I love this hat. I've worn it out in public many times. Usually to the wifes chagrin. She's a good sport but tends to shy from attention. This hat brings attention...

Speaking of attention! I bought this beauty at the Mall of America while I was on a speech team meet. Us California dwellers were in high fashion that day. I doubt I've worn it since.

It's hard not to feel cool in a Fedora. Seriously. I used to dress up as a gangster every Halloween just for the excuse of wearing this hat.

Ah yes! My fathers Greek sailors cap. Add this to the "never allowed to wear with Patricia" list. She never says it, but you can see the fear in her eyes when I put this on.

Plus it is a wee bit big for me. My old man had a huge head!

Whenever I put this on I feel like I should dawn some slickers and go fishing on a huge boat. Luckily I never follow through on that absurd tendency.

Another of my fathers caps. It has his first inital and last name in it, so I presume it's Navy issue. He was stationed in the Philippines in the mid 60's. Had some strange stories of bitter beer and poorly translated American songs...

I suppose this is a pretty normal hat to wear. Your average baseball cap. I bought it at the first Giants game I attended in AT&T Park.

Trouble is it looks brand new, because I never wear it! And with the Giants going to series I'd feel like a fair weather fan. So I just too embarrassed to go out in it.

So this is my hat of choice. A tech hat from a long dead optics manufacturing company in Boston. Quantum Bridge. Of course that's not what it looks like at first glance.

"Hey, do you work at Quiznos?!"
"No.. This company made campus based switching architecture in the early 00's-"
"-I like their grilled sandwiches!"
"Yeah. Me too."

So that's me for the next few weeks. If you see me, don't ask. I'm not going to show you my hair! :)